The Great Outdoors

Deciding whether to invest in a regional sub shop franchise is one of the most consequential financial decisions an entrepreneur can make, and the stakes are particularly high in the limited-service restaurant category, where concept differentiation, brand heritage, and operational consistency determine survival. The Great Outdoors Sub Shop answers a fundamental consumer need: high-quality, made-to-order submarine sandwiches served quickly, affordably, and with the kind of recipe consistency that builds genuine customer loyalty over decades rather than quarters. Founded in 1973 by Jerry Oliverie, a New Jersey native who brought East Coast sub-shop sensibility to Downtown Dallas, Texas, The Great Outdoors has operated continuously for over five decades — a remarkable feat in an industry notorious for rapid turnover. Oliverie, who serves as President and CEO, anchored the brand in a region that has become one of the fastest-growing metropolitan economies in the United States, with the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex now exceeding 8 million residents and ranking among the top five U.S. metro areas by GDP. The brand's corporate office is located at 2005 Alamo Road, Richardson, TX 75080, and the franchise entity operating manuals and licensing agreements flow through G.O. Franchise, Inc. The Great Outdoors franchise currently operates six active locations across the DFW metroplex, including units in Frisco, Fort Worth, Richardson, Carrollton, McKinney, and Dallas, all within the United States. The system is primarily company-owned and tightly operated, which speaks to the franchisor's preference for quality control over rapid unit expansion — a philosophical stance that investors should weigh carefully as a signal of brand discipline. The global limited-service restaurant category, within which The Great Outdoors franchise competes directly, represents a total addressable market of approximately $823.96 billion in 2024, projected to reach $1.44 trillion by 2034, making this one of the most durable and scalable franchise investment categories available to entrepreneurs worldwide.

The limited-service restaurant industry is not merely resilient — it is structurally advantaged by some of the most powerful macro forces shaping consumer behavior in 2025 and beyond. The U.S. limited-service restaurant sector alone generated $548.9 billion in sales in 2024, within a total U.S. restaurant industry projected to exceed $1.5 trillion in annual sales by the end of 2025, according to industry research compiled across major market intelligence sources. The quick-service restaurant segment specifically is projected to reach $330.56 billion in 2025, up from $311.54 billion the prior year, and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.2% to reach $436.07 billion by 2029. Fast-casual formats, which share significant consumer overlap with premium sub shops like The Great Outdoors franchise, are projected to generate $84.5 billion in revenue between 2025 and 2029, powered by a remarkable CAGR of 13.7% — the highest growth rate of any restaurant sub-segment. Driving this expansion are several converging consumer trends: first, the accelerating demand for convenience and speed, with 95% of consumers rating speed as critical to their takeout experience; second, digital transformation, with 65% of quick-service restaurant visitors now using mobile order-ahead apps and nearly 90% of consumers aged 18 to 24 doing so regularly; and third, delivery and takeout growth, with delivery sales in the limited-service sector surging more than 20% in the past year alone. The U.S. now hosts over 159,000 limited-service restaurant locations as of 2025, creating a competitive but highly fragmented market where regional brands with strong local heritage and distinctive product differentiation can hold meaningful territory against national chains. For a brand like The Great Outdoors, which competes on proprietary recipes — including signature offerings like the "Invention" sub with ham, provolone, cream cheese, and fresh mushrooms, and the "Outdoorsman" featuring turkey pastrami, capicola, spiced ham, salami, bologna, pepperoni, and cheese — the shift toward consumers seeking customized, high-quality sandwich experiences rather than commodity fast food creates a secular tailwind directly aligned with what the brand delivers.

The Great Outdoors franchise investment begins with a $25,000 single-unit franchise fee, which is below the category average for limited-service restaurant franchises, where initial franchise fees typically range from $30,000 to $50,000 depending on brand scale and market position. The total investment range to establish a Great Outdoors franchise location is estimated between $50,000 and $235,000, excluding the initial franchise fee — a notably wide spread that reflects the significant variability in location-specific remodeling costs, lease terms, and the degree to which landlord tenant improvement allowances offset build-out expenses. The lower bound of $50,000 is achievable primarily in scenarios where franchisees secure favorable financing against strong personal collateral and credit history, and where landlord allowances substantially cover leasehold improvements — conditions that experienced commercial real estate operators will recognize as realistic but not guaranteed. The upper bound of $235,000 reflects scenarios with more significant build-out requirements, meaning that a prospective franchisee must approach site selection with financial modeling discipline, not optimism. The franchise agreement grants the franchisee a 10-year license to use the company's name, logos, processes, and proprietary recipes — a standard term length that provides a reasonable operational horizon for return-on-investment planning. Development agreements for multi-unit operators in defined geographic areas are available, though specific multi-unit fee structures are negotiated on a case-by-case basis. The Great Outdoors franchise investment sits firmly in the accessible-to-mid-tier range for the limited-service restaurant category, making it potentially attainable for entrepreneurs who would be priced out of nationally scaled QSR concepts requiring $500,000 or more in total investment. Prospective franchisees should evaluate SBA 7(a) loan eligibility as a primary financing pathway, as the sub-$300,000 total investment range aligns well with SBA lending thresholds commonly applied to food service franchise acquisitions.

The operating model for a Great Outdoors franchise is built around the owner-operator paradigm — this is not a passive investment vehicle. Daily operations center on fresh ingredient preparation, made-to-order sandwich construction, and the consistency of proprietary recipes that have defined the brand for over 50 years. The brand offers a drive-thru format at its newer locations, including the Richardson location at 2005 Alamo Road constructed in February 2022, which provides the operational throughput advantages that are increasingly critical in a market where 95% of consumers prioritize speed. Initial training is eight weeks in duration, conducted at a designated Dallas, Texas area location, and is mandatory for all franchisees, owner-operators, and their management teams — the cost of training for two individuals is included in the franchise fee, though franchisees bear costs for travel, lodging, management salaries, and tuition for any additional trainees. The training curriculum is comprehensive, covering operations, quality assurance, real estate, architectural, construction, marketing, and accounting — a breadth that reflects the franchisor's intent to produce self-sufficient operators rather than dependent franchisees. Ongoing support from G.O. Franchise, Inc. includes hands-on assistance at the franchisee's location for two days prior to opening and three days immediately following the grand opening, site selection and lease negotiation guidance, restaurant layout planning, and periodic consultative visits from company representatives covering advertising, promotions, training, and communications. Franchisees receive manuals on loan from G.O. Franchise, Inc. that are updated periodically, along with management bulletins distributing operational best practices. Protected territories with growth opportunities are offered, giving franchisees geographic exclusivity within their defined market area — an important structural protection in a metro market as dense and competitive as DFW.

Item 19 financial performance data is not disclosed in the current Franchise Disclosure Document for The Great Outdoors franchise. This is a material fact for prospective investors to understand clearly: without Item 19 disclosure, there are no franchisor-provided representations regarding average unit revenue, median sales, top or bottom quartile performance, or profit margins. Franchisors are not legally required to disclose this information, and its absence may reflect the system's scale — with six active locations and a primarily company-owned model, the sample size for meaningful statistical disclosure is inherently limited. What investors can evaluate in the absence of Item 19 data are the structural indicators available from industry benchmarks and the brand's operational history. The U.S. QSR sub-segment, which encompasses sandwich-focused limited-service concepts, historically generates average unit volumes ranging from $800,000 to $1.4 million for established regional brands, though these figures vary widely by market density, format type, and operational execution. The Richardson location's 30-plus years at its original Campbell Road address before a planned February 2022 relocation to a newly constructed building signals sustained consumer demand at that unit — a brand does not invest in purpose-built drive-thru construction for a location that lacks demonstrated revenue performance. Conversely, the closure of the Addison location at 5290 Belt Line Road on January 31, 2025, after 45 years of operation — the longest-running Great Outdoors unit in North Texas — is a data point investors must contextualize: the closure of a 45-year-old unit in a high-traffic DFW corridor warrants direct inquiry into the specific circumstances, whether lease economics, demographic shifts, or competitive pressure drove the decision. Profit margins in the limited-service restaurant category typically range from 3% to 9% for owner-operators, with labor and food costs together consuming 55% to 65% of gross revenue in most sub-shop operating models — figures that provide a useful framework for modeling prospective unit economics against lease cost assumptions in available DFW territories.

The Great Outdoors franchise has followed a deliberate, quality-focused growth trajectory rather than an aggressive expansion path. The system currently operates six active locations in the DFW metroplex, with the database reflecting two total units and one franchised unit — figures that underscore the brand's concentrated, company-dominated operational structure. The longest-running unit in the system operated for 45 consecutive years before its January 2025 closure, and the brand's founding in 1973 gives it over 50 years of continuous market presence in North Texas — a competitive moat rooted in brand recognition and recipe heritage that no new entrant can replicate quickly or cheaply. The February 2022 construction of a purpose-built, drive-thru-equipped building for the Richardson location represents meaningful capital investment in modernizing the brand's physical footprint, positioning it to compete effectively in a delivery and convenience-driven market where, as noted, delivery sales in limited-service dining have grown more than 20% in the past year. The brand's competitive advantages are concentrated in its proprietary recipe portfolio, its 50-year heritage in the DFW market, and its tight operational control through a predominantly company-owned system that protects recipe integrity and service standards. The DFW metroplex itself represents a compelling macro backdrop: the region consistently ranks among the top U.S. metropolitan areas for population growth, GDP expansion, and new business formation, creating a continuously expanding addressable consumer base for a well-positioned regional sandwich brand. Digital transformation opportunities — mobile ordering integration, delivery platform partnerships, and loyalty program development — represent the clearest near-term growth levers available to the brand as it considers measured franchise expansion within its protected territory framework.

The ideal franchisee for a Great Outdoors franchise opportunity is an owner-operator with hands-on food service management experience, strong local market knowledge within the DFW metroplex, and the financial discipline to manage food cost and labor cost ratios in a tight-margin operating environment. Given the eight-week mandatory training requirement and the franchisor's emphasis on operational consistency with proprietary recipes, this is not an absentee investment — successful candidates will be actively involved in daily operations, particularly in the critical early months following opening. The franchise agreement provides a 10-year license term, offering franchisees a meaningful window for operational stabilization and return-on-investment realization, with growth opportunities available within protected territories for operators who demonstrate performance consistency. Available territories are concentrated within the greater DFW metroplex, where the brand's heritage and consumer recognition are strongest — investors seeking to establish a location outside North Texas should engage directly with G.O. Franchise, Inc. to understand geographic expansion appetite and available market assessments. The multi-unit development agreement pathway is available for franchisees with the operational infrastructure and capital base to develop multiple locations within a defined area, though specific development timelines and fees are subject to direct negotiation. Transfer and resale considerations for a single franchised unit in a regional system of this scale should be evaluated carefully with franchise legal counsel, as the exit market for hyper-regional brands is structurally narrower than that of nationally recognized QSR concepts — a factor to model explicitly in any investment timeline analysis.

The Great Outdoors franchise opportunity presents a case study in regional brand durability and niche market positioning that serious franchise investors should evaluate with both appreciation for its heritage and clear-eyed scrutiny of its scale. In a limited-service restaurant category projected to reach $1.44 trillion globally by 2034 and growing at a CAGR of 5.7%, a 50-year-old brand with a loyal DFW consumer base, proprietary recipes, a below-category-average franchise fee of $25,000, and a total investment range of $50,000 to $235,000 occupies a genuinely distinctive market position — accessible capital requirements combined with proven consumer demand in one of the nation's fastest-growing metro markets. The brand's FPI Score of 22, classified as Limited, reflects the system's early-stage franchise infrastructure and the data constraints inherent in a small-unit-count system, and prospective investors should treat this score as a prompt for deeper due diligence rather than a disqualifying signal. PeerSense provides exclusive due diligence data including SBA lending history, FPI score analysis, location maps with Google ratings, FDD financial data, and side-by-side comparison tools that allow investors to benchmark The Great Outdoors franchise against competing limited-service restaurant concepts across every material investment dimension. The combination of low entry cost, a legacy brand in a high-growth metro market, and a category with powerful secular tailwinds creates an investment thesis that merits structured investigation — the questions are real, the data requirements are specific, and the answers exist in the primary documents. Explore the complete The Great Outdoors franchise profile on PeerSense to access the full suite of independent franchise intelligence data.