Sen. Warren's food fight over a potential 'big sandwich' monopoly

A private equity firm's attempted Subway takeover has federal regulators salivating

Subway sandwich wrapper
Warren says the public doesn't need "another private equity deal that could lead to higher food prices for consumers"
(Image credit: Photo by Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Despite all the diverse offerings and unique cultural niches they've carved for themselves over the past century or so, America's vast slate of fast food restaurants is largely predicated on the same basic model: A customer walks in, orders from the counter, and waits a minute or two while an employee constructs their meal from an assembly of pre-arranged components. Whether burgers, burritos, or roast beef sandwiches, the choreography is mostly the same, it's simply the ingredients that differ. 

For Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), however, the structural similarities across various fast food chains are a secondary concern to the question of who owns those chains to begin with. In particular, Warren is worried about Roark Capital Group, the private equity firm which this past August announced a deal to purchase the Subway sandwich company for nearly $10 billion. Once completed, Roark will add Subway to its existing roster of ubiquitous sandwich chains, including Arby's, and Jimmy John's, as well as other brands such as Dunkin' Donuts, Culver's, and Hardee's. 

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Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.