The U.S. sandwich shop that originally operated as “Pete’s Super Submarines” was Subway.
Fred DeLuca opened the first shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in August 1965 with help from family friend Peter Buck, a nuclear physicist. Buck provided a $1,000 loan, hoping the sandwich business would help DeLuca pay for college. The name referred to the long, submarine-shaped sandwiches the shop sold.
The business soon changed its name to “Pete’s Submarines,” then to “Subway” in 1968. The shorter name was easier to say and helped avoid confusion caused by customers pronouncing “Pete’s Submarines” in ways that sounded like other phrases. Subway later developed into a major international fast-food franchise built around made-to-order submarine sandwiches.
A common mix-up is assuming Subway began under its current name. The brand’s early history is tied specifically to Pete’s Super Submarines, and the original restaurant was in Connecticut—not New York or California.