Three Factors That Led to Quiznos' Epic Decline

The company announced last week that it had filed for bankruptcy. The sandwich chain's troubles come at a time when similar businesses, like Subway, and Potbelly, are thriving.

But serious flaws in Quiznos' business model led to the company's demise, The Wall Street Journal wrote in December.

The article, by Julie Jargon and Emily Glazer, points out a few problems that led to the bankruptcy.

1. Franchisee woes. The chain's franchise owners have long complained that Quiznos charges too much for ingredients, eating into profits. Quiznos responded by lowering prices last summer, but for many store owners, the damage had already been done, WSJ writes.

2. Production fails. Quiznos has always added all the items, including veggies, to the sub before toasting. But last year, Quiznos started adding veggies after the toasting process, with the logic that veggies would taste better fresh. This confused long-time customers and hurt business, according to franchisees. Quiznos ended up going back to the original method.

3. Store closures. Quiznos has shrunk from 5,000 restaurants in 2008, to just over 2,000 today, the Journal writes. Because Quiznos has fewer stores contributing profits, it doesn't have the advertising or marketing budgets to keep up with bigger chains like Subway.

Quiznos just started offering pasta in an attempt to win back consumers.