Restaurants

Fast Food

Subway

The Biggest Food Chain In America Is A Sandwich Shop (& It's Not Jimmy John's) By Garrett Palm Oct. 12, 2025 6:39 am EST

Jason Cameron/Getty Images

If you thought Jimmy John's was the largest food chain in the U.S., you are way off. The chain only has around 2,700 locations, a little less than a seventh of the total of the top American chain, Subway. Even though the once-beloved chain has lost its spot as America's favorite sandwich shop , it still reigns supreme with a whopping 20,378 shops all over the country as of 2025. Amazingly, this number has been dropping since 2014, when it had over 27,000 locations.

The current second-largest food chain is Starbucks, with over 17,000 locations, and the third is McDonald's, with over 13,000. Somehow,

See Full Page