DENVER – Quiznos, a leading quick-service restaurant chain that claims to be the pioneer of the toasted sandwich, announced a growth initiative to develop up to 600 new stores nationwide by the end of 2010. This planned expansion will create more than 7,500 new jobs.

New Quiznos locations will include both corporate-owned stores as well as Quiznos-funded, joint-venture ownership opportunities for qualified entrepreneurs. The Quiznos-owned locations represent a departure from the company’s traditional franchise model.

“At Quiznos, we have a world-class business model and our belief in that model is so strong we want to increase our corporate profitability by investing in these corporate-owned stores,” said Rick Schaden, Quiznos’ founder and chief executive officer. “Establishing a stronger presence of Quiznos-owned stores also allows us to more closely align with our franchise owners, identifying and advancing best practices at the store level to elevate our brand’s operations overall.”

Most recently, Quiznos recapitalized and restructured its existing debt and equity structure in order to fund expansion and facilitate greater flexibility for growth. By doing so, Quiznos is able to dedicate its own capital to the new store openings and invest in this positive growth momentum.

Quiznos said it is also investing in its brand – refreshing its brand identity, renovating in-store design, increasing its value proposition for budget-conscious customers, introducing green packaging and practices for more sustainable operations, and enhancing its menu for even broader customer appeal.