Subway rolls out a new restaurant blueprint as it targets 10,000 sites across EMEA

Subway has set out a new format, which it calls Blueprint, as the centrepiece of a plan to double its estate in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), reaching 10,000 restaurants in the next five years, BigHospitality reports.

What changes - Starting on 1 January 2027, all new Subways and all remodels in the region will use the new design. Restaurants in the UK and the Netherlands are already trading in it - Ordering moves further onto self-order kiosks and the Subway app - A wider menu aimed at more occasions, including a new breakfast and coffee range, plus Grab & Go - Subway After Dark, now being piloted in the Netherlands, switches to softer lighting and evening music after dark, with a later menu that includes loaded waffle fries, mac and cheese and foot-long pizzas

Tracy Gehlan, president of Subway EMEA, framed the programme around guests eating on their own schedule, and told franchisees it should mean stronger restaurant economics and a longer-term brand.

What it means for operators: this is a franchised network buying growth through dayparts rather than just new doors. Breakfast-to-late formats with kiosk ordering will put more pressure on high-street coffee, bakery and late-night QSR, and franchise partners should look closely at refit capex against the promised uplift before committing to remodels.