What It's Really Like To Own A Subway, According To One TikToker

Have you ever considered opening your own franchise restaurant? Have you ever wondered what kind of money and effort that would entail? If you answered yes to either of those questions, look no further for the run-down.

As you might expect, it's not cheap to open a franchise. According to Eater, people looking to open a franchise restaurant like Chick-fil-A or Domino's have enormous start-up costs, as well as monthly fees (calculated by the number of sales) paid to the franchise itself. This doesn't even include the cost of building and decorating.

Sure, you might eventually make big bucks (McDonald's franchise owners on average make about $150,000 annually), but at the cost of creativity in running your business. There's a reason chain restaurants have the same menu items — they're legally required to. Sure, some restaurants like A&W might also sell regional favorites, but menus, advertisements, and branding are predominantly determined by the corporation.

TikTok user @mylidavenhall offered his viewers an inside look at running a franchise. In his October TikTok post, he said the first step in opening a Subway is paying up a hefty $15,000 fee. He goes on to give estimates for renting space and construction, anywhere from $100,000 to $200,000. Yikes.

And Subway is considered one of the cheapest franchises to open in the U.S. According to Business Insider, opening a McDonald's can run up to $2.2 million, with an upfront fee of $45,000. This may seem steep, but keep in mind that McDonald's is wildly popular and pulls in massive profits each year.

Even though Subway seems like an easier option, you might want to think twice. Think about how many Subway franchises you've seen — a lot. Now think about how many people you see going to Subway — not a lot. Subways have popped up in large numbers due to low start-up costs, but they simply don't see enough business to always make it all worth it in the long run.