Quiz Holdings, LLC, doing business as Quiznos, is an American franchised fast-food restaurant based in Denver that specializes in offering toasted submarine sandwiches.

It then grew to nearly 5,000 restaurants; by 2013, Quiznos was the second-largest submarine sandwich shop chain in North America, behind Subway.

[5] It filed for bankruptcy in 2014; by 2016, it had dropped to ninth place,[6] and the number of Quiznos locations in the United States fell from a 2007 high of 4,700 to just 400 a decade later.

[7][8] The first Quiznos restaurant was opened in 1981 in Denver, Colorado by founder Jimmy Lambatos and his partner, Todd Disner.

[citation needed] KMN USA LLC acquired the franchise rights for Japan, opening its first location in early 1999.

[31]In 2010 the chain said it planned to expand, opening locations in over 40 countries and territories, including Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Central and South America by 2012.

[35] A November 2013 article reported that "Following its most recent international successes in Mexico, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates, Quiznos will bring toasted sandwiches to Indonesia with the signature of PT Quiznosindo as the brand's newest franchisor.

The group, led by Tan Po Lian, plans to open 100 units in Indonesia over the next 10 years...Expansion into Singapore, South Korea, the Philippines, and Indonesia is part of Quiznos' continued international development plan to open more than 1,000 international stores in more than 40 countries by 2020.

[45] After the closure of around 2,000 restaurants during the Great Recession, a majority stake in the company was purchased by Avenue Capital Group of New York in January 2012.

[47] They also brought on Stuart Mathis as CEO, the former president of The UPS Store, who said that the company would try to counteract shrinking sales by promoting the quality of its food.

Some Quiznos Grill sandwiches remained on the menu, while vegetarian choices, salads, all-day breakfasts, and loaded tater tots were added.

Early TV spots advertised the innovation of toasting sandwiches, as compared to the inventor of pants (humorously contrasted with men wearing bushes).

[59] One commercial in 2003 depicted a man (played by Jim Parsons) who had been "raised by wolves" by suckling at a mother wolf's teat.

[citation needed] On July 17, 2023, Quiznos announced the return of the Spongmonkeys after almost two decades with a new advertisement (again created and voiced by Veitch) in which they go on a road trip, singing about "the gas prices and public restrooms and the creepy billboards".

[73] It has faced more lawsuits from franchisees than bigger chains, such as McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, and even its sandwich competitors Subway and Blimpie, according to an analysis by the legal research firm Thomson West.

[73] The United States Small Business Administration said 23.4 percent of Quiznos franchises with SBA loans failed.

The company sued franchise owners Richard Piotrowski and Ellen Blickman for not putting enough meat in a prime rib sandwich.

Judge Morris Hoffman called the meat-weighing exercise and subsequent termination letters a "charade" aimed at bolstering a national ad campaign against rival Subway.

[78][79] On November 27, 2006, Bhupinder Baber, franchise owner of two Quiznos locations in Long Beach, California died by suicide after a legal battle with the company.

[83] A 2014 article in the Long Beach Post suggested that the factors that contributed to Baber's suicide also led to the parent company's bankruptcy in 2014.

Also at issue were the supply chain and food costs, marketing and advertising funds, and disputes among franchisees that agreed to, but did not open, locations and whether royalties are owed.

Quiznos denied all claims made in the lawsuits, and the settlement agreement involves no finding or admission of liability.

Nonetheless, the cost to Quiznos has been estimated from $100 to $200 million while also forcing it to implement a new business plan "which puts more support into its franchisees".