SUBWAY Restaurants Honors Its Fastest "Sub Jammer" Sandwich Artists

MILFORD, Conn., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Jennifer Underwood, a SUBWAY Sandwich Artist® from Spokane Valley, WA, captured first place in the 2010 Sub Jammers' Competition at the annual SUBWAY® convention in Chicago, Ill., recently. Jennifer, a Sandwich Artist® for almost 10 years, and most recently a store manager, competed against 144 other Sandwich Artists® from nine countries.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100817/NY51219 )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100817/NY51219 )

"The competition is very exciting," said Jennifer, a mother of two, who won $3,000 for taking First Place. "You get to go up against the best sandwich makers in the world. It's a very fun day!"

Franchisee Jerry Jensen, who owns the store at 3808 N. Sullivan Street where Jennifer works, said he wasn't surprised that Jennifer bested a tough field this year, "She is a very motivated and a very competitive person. She cares about what she does and just wants to be the best!"

Jennifer won the championship with a final time of 45.3 seconds, only two-tenths of a second ahead of Second Place finisher Sharon Hall, of Waco, TX, who had a final score of 45.5 seconds. Third Place finisher Bryon Shea, of Neenah, WI, had a final score of 48.

Jennifer, whose favorite SUBWAY® sandwich is the Turkey sub (her husband Brandon said his favorite is the turkey sub as well, especially when Jennifer makes it!), said the trick to winning is to not think about the competition, "You just make a sandwich like you do in the store. If you think about what you're doing too much it won't work!"

During the annual Sub Jammers' Competition, sponsored in part by Fresh Start Bakeries and Schreiber Foods, Sandwich Artists® are judged on speed, sandwich appearance and accuracy. Sandwich Artists® took part in the final competition after winning regional Sub Jammer events worldwide.

The second- and third-place finishers were familiar to the competition: Sharon, who won $2,000 for her second place showing, came in second last year as well after winning the championship in 2007 and 2008; while Bryon, who was presented with a check for $1,000 for coming in third, came in first last year after finishing second in 2007 and 2008.

"Every year the competition gets more intense, in a very good-hearted way," said Tom Coba, Chief Operations Officer for the SUBWAY® brand. "The level of competition is exceptional and it is nice to see the Sandwich Artists® interact with each other and support each other during the competition. Everyone has a really fun time during this event. After meeting with the Sandwich Artists® each year – both here and in the stores - it is easy to see why SUBWAY® is always looked upon as providing an exceptional positive experience for our customers."

About SUBWAY® Restaurants

The SUBWAY® restaurant chain is the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise, with more than 33,000 locations in 91 countries. Headquartered in Milford, Connecticut, and with regional offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Brisbane, Miami, and Singapore, the SUBWAY® chain was co-founded by Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck in 1965. The SUBWAY® brand was ranked the number one Franchise Opportunity and the number one Global Franchise Opportunity in the 2010 edition of Entrepreneur magazine's "Annual Franchise 500®" survey, an honor that the SUBWAY® chain has received 17 times in the past 23 years.

For more information about the SUBWAY® restaurant chain and its sustainability efforts, please visit www.subway.com. SUBWAY® is a registered trademark of Doctor's Associates Inc.

SOURCE SUBWAY Restaurants