The fast-food chain Subway restaurants will enter the Romanian market this year, with a first unit to be opened by the end of 2011. By 2015, the company plans to open 60 restaurants in the country.

“We want to open the first restaurant later this year. Right now we are looking for the right location”, said Martin Princ, Subway's regional development manager for Central and Eastern Europe. “Before the end of the year we plan to sell about 20 franchises”, he added.

The Subway chain is one of the biggest franchises in the world, with almost 35,000 locations in 98 countries, while in Central and Eastern Europe the number amounts to 270.

Its worldwide competitors are McDonald’s Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell, among others. The latter is not present on the Romanian market.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com