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{{Short description|American restaurant chain and franchise}}
{{Infobox company
| name             = Tubby's
| logo             = Tubbylogo.png
| type             = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| foundation       = [[St. Clair Shores, Michigan]] ({{start date and age|1968}})
| founder          = Richard Paganes
| location_city    = [[Clinton Township, Macomb County, Michigan|Clinton Township, Michigan]]
| location_country = [[United States]]
| locations        =
| area_served      = Michigan (primarily metropolitan Detroit)
| key_people       =
| industry         = [[Fast food]]
| products         = [[Submarine sandwiches]]
| owner            =
| num_employees    = 70
| homepage         = [http://www.tubbys.com/ tubbys.com]
}}
[[Image:Tubby's grilled submarines store South Lyon Michigan.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Tubby's store (now closed), [[South Lyon, Michigan]]]]
'''Tubby's''' is an American [[restaurant]] chain and [[Franchising|franchise]] based in [[Clinton Township, Macomb County, Michigan|Clinton Township, Michigan]], a suburb of [[Detroit]], Michigan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CR&z=CRGB&p_theme=cr&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAFEABEF42F5AA0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title=Fill 'er up at Tubby's |access-date=2008-08-22 |last=Boyer |first=Ann Scholl |date=2000-12-23 |work=Cedar Rapids-Iowa City Gazette}}</ref><ref name="Crain's Detroit Business 2015">{{cite web | title=For dessert, Tubby's buys Just Baked cupcakes | website=Crain's Detroit Business | date=July 31, 2015 | url=http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20150802/NEWS/308029982/for-dessert-tubbys-buys-just-baked-cupcakes | access-date=December 28, 2017}}</ref> Founded in 1968 in nearby [[St. Clair Shores, Michigan|St. Clair Shores]], the chain operates more than 70 stores throughout Michigan, primarily in the Detroit metropolitan area. The chain primarily serves [[submarine sandwiches]] and [[salad]]s, own specific chips, along with [[soft drink]]s, [[french fries]] and [[soup]], and is known for its grilled subs.
==History==
Tubby's was founded in 1968 in [[St. Clair Shores, Michigan]]. Founder Richard Paganes, who was 21 at the time, had previously worked at another local sub shop called Super Sub Shop, and decided to open his own sub shop. The site of the first Tubby's was chosen after Paganes found himself stopped with a flat tire in front of a building that was for rent.<ref name="funding"/> By early 1968, the first Tubby's was opened. It sold twenty-five different varieties of sandwich, most grilled.<ref name="funding">{{cite web |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Tubbys-Inc-Company-History.html |title=Tubby's, Inc.  |access-date=2008-08-22 |work=Funding Universe}}</ref> He soon opened three more locations nearby, and eventually enlisted the help of his brother Robert. By 1977, the chain had grown to ten locations, and was incorporated as Tubby's Sub Shops, Inc. The first franchised location opened in [[Madison Heights, Michigan|Madison Heights]], and several other locations began offering dine-in as well as carry-out; the [[Westland, Michigan|Westland]] location was the first to feature a [[Drive-through|drive-through]] window.<ref name="funding"/>
By 1986, with fifty locations at the time, the company had gone public. Shortly afterward, the chain acquired a local restaurant called Ricky's Dairy Bar and Luxury Grill. This concept was franchised as well.<ref name="funding"/> Tubby's merged with [[New Jersey]]–based Stuff Yer Face, Inc., and was renamed as Tubby's, Inc. Paganes then became chairman and CEO of Tubby's, Inc., although he was replaced one year later by Alexander Bardy as CEO.<ref name="funding"/>
===1990s and 2000s===
In 1994, Tubby's also started a concept called Tubby's Café Express, which operated inside five local [[Sears, Roebuck and Company|Sears]] department stores, including the ones at [[Fairlane Town Center]] in [[Dearborn, Michigan|Dearborn]] and [[Oakland Mall]] in [[Troy, Michigan|Troy]].<ref name="news">{{cite web |url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_n15_v28/ai_15135445
|title=Tubby's targets nontraditional sites |access-date=2008-08-22 |last=Walkup |first=Carolyn |date=1994-04-11 |work=Nation's Restaurant News}}</ref> They also proposed another prototype, drive-through-only location, and opened locations on the campuses of [[Wayne State University]] in Detroit and [[Ohio State University]] in [[Columbus, Ohio]], as well as one located inside a Detroit hospital.<ref name="news"/>
Later in 1994, however, Bardy was ousted and replaced with Paganes as CEO, and the Café Express concept was abandoned.<ref name="funding"/> Locations were also opened in [[Florida]] and [[Ohio]], and the chain began opening locations inside [[gas station]]s as well.<ref name="funding"/> Their first location outside the United States opened in [[Edmonton, Alberta]], Canada, in 1997, followed by outlets in [[Indiana]] and [[Missouri]] a year later.<ref name="funding"/>
After a failed merger with Florida-based Interfoods of America, Tubby's returned to private ownership in 1999. That same year, the chain expanded into [[Arizona]] as well.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19516309.html |title=Tubby's, Inc. Chooses Phoenix Market as First Expansion West of the Mississippi - 25 Stores Planned Over the Next Five Years |access-date=2008-08-22 |date=1997-06-20 |work=PR Newswire}}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
</ref> All of the locations outside Michigan were eventually closed, however, as the chain chose to focus more on the Detroit area, to compete with national chains such as [[Quiznos]] and [[Subway (restaurant)|Subway]] of which only Subway remains. A prototype store, the 100th in the chain, opened in [[Macomb Township, Michigan|Macomb Township]]  in 2001. This was also the first location in the chain to serve [[pizza]]. In the 2010s, The Tubby’s purchased the cupcake shop, Just Baked. As of 2019 Tubby’s has around 55 Locations in the Metropolitan Detroit area.
==See also==
{{Portal|Companies}}
* [[List of submarine sandwich restaurants]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.tubby.com/ Official website]
{{Fast-food chains of the United States}}
[[Category:Restaurants established in 1968]]
[[Category:Fast-food chains of the United States]]
[[Category:Submarine sandwich restaurants]]
[[Category:Restaurants in Michigan]]
[[Category:Regional restaurant chains in the United States]]
[[Category:Companies based in Macomb County, Michigan]]
[[Category:1968 establishments in Michigan]]
[[Category:Fast-food franchises]]