Subway" Restaurant Chain Honors Its Outstanding Franchisees

(Thursday, September 28, 2006) - The SUBWAY restaurant chain, the
world's largest submarine sandwich franchise, is proud to announce that it has named three
outstanding franchisees as the recipients of its Franchisee of the Year awards, during the
company's recent convention in Toronto.
This year's SUBWAY Franchisee of the Year awards were presented to Fasil
Meressi of England; Pekka & Raili Pohtola of Finland; and the Army and Air Force Exchange
Service (AAFES).
"The franchisee is the heart and soul of the SUBWAY family. We know that our
success depends upon the initiative they take as individuals and their ability to work as a
team. We take great pride in the hard work and effort made by the thousands of franchisees
throughout the world and in the millions of customers that they serve," says the SUBWAY
restaurant chain's Director of Development, Don Fertman.
Selected from among 24 regional finalists from around the world, representing
SUBWAY restaurants in the U.S. & Canada, and the chain's international developed and
emerging markets, the Franchisees of the Year are honored for their sales accomplishments,
community involvement, and their efforts to build awareness of the SUBWAY brand within their community.
Fasil Meressi, a former IT programmer, opened his first SUBWAY restaurant in
Swindon, England in November of 2004. He now owns and operates two locations with his business partner, Esther Mebrahtu. "We both lived in London prior to becoming SUBWAY franchisees and witnessed the tremendous mushrooming effect of the brand and it wasn't difficult to assess how well it would do elsewhere. There is a definite demand for good
quality, healthy food in Swindon and this is only likely to grow in the future. Being named
Franchisee of the Year is a great acknowledgement and recognition of all our hard work and
effort these last two years. It has made our team members very proud and determined to
repeat the success next year," says Meressi.
Husband and wife team, Pekka and Raili Pohtola, have been married for 35 years
and are the franchisees of two SUBWAY restaurants, one in Helsinki, which opened in
2004, and the other in Espoo, Finland, which opened in 2005. Always the entrepreneur,
Pekka was involved in the retail side of the gasoline industry for 10 years, running an
operation that included fuel sales, a car wash and foodservice. "When my contract with the
oil company came to an end, I wanted to find a new business venture and SUBWAY was
the one we liked the best. We are very happy and proud to have won the Franchisee of the
Year award. At first, we couldn't believe it was true, but later understood that all of our hard
work was noticed by people so far away from us," says Pohtola
AAFES, now in its second century of operation, provides products and services to
active duty, guard and reserve members, military retirees and their families worldwide. The
first AAFES owned and operated SUBWAY restaurant opened during October 2001 in the
Cadet Dormitory at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.
- More -
DOCTOR'S ASSOCIATES INC. • 325 Bic Drive • Milford • CT • 06461
Phone (203) 877-4281 / (800) 888-4848 • Fax (203) 876-6674
www.subway.com
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Since then, they have opened 52 additional SUBWAY® locations to bring the taste of
home to Soldiers and Airmen on bases located in the United States and around the world:
In addition to the overall winners, the regional SUBWAY Franchisee of the Year
recipents are Nadezda & Alexander Usupova of California; Danny Gregory of Indiana; Peter
DiPasqua & Jeffrey Ganselle of Florida; Mostofa Mohammed of Washington D.C.; Mark
Carpenter of Rhode Island; John Del Vecchio of New York; Bradley Harris of Colorado;
James Dinsmore of Alabama; Richard Dux of Illinois; Shelley Matthews of Washington;
Savana & Jennifer Som of British Columbia, Canada; Shu-Hao Chang & Le-Chiun Yin of
Taiwan; John Miles of Australia; Massayoshi & Catia Sato of Brazil; Cynthia Swanson of
Puerto Rico; Franz Amrhein, Andres Gazel & Jan Holtermann of Costa Rica; Anne Schoel of
Germany; Jiri Soucek & David Biskup of the Czech Republic; Abraham Sanchez of Mexico;
Najeeb Mohamed of the United Arab Emirates; and Subtime of Venezuela.
About SUBWAY" Restaurants
The SUBWAY restaurant chain is the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise,
with more than 26,500 locations in 85 countries. Headquartered in Milford, Connecticut, and
with regional offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Brisbane, Miami, and Singapore, the SUBWAY
chain was co-founded by Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck in 1965. The SUBWAY brand
was ranked the number one franchise opportunity in Entrepreneur magazine's 2006 "Annual
Franchise 500®" listing. This marks the 14th time in 18 years that the chain has achieved this
honor.
For more information about the SUBWAY chain, visit www.subway.com.
SUBWAY is a registered trademark of Doctor's Associates Inc.

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