Can you buy a Mr. Sub franchise in Canada?

Yes, MR.SUB is a franchise you can look into. Its website has a page headed Franchise With Us!, which invites readers to become a franchise owner and calls MR.SUB a uniquely Canadian restaurant. The page says that over the last five decades hundreds of individuals determined to own a proven business model have joined its national network of franchisees. That is the company’s own description. Deavo has carried listings for Mr. Sub locations, so existing restaurants can also come up for sale.

What the franchisor publishes

The page promises the benefits of a strong brand, backed by extensive training and expert support from the MR.SUB management team, and gives a contact route to its Director of Franchise Development. Its footer says MR.SUB is a division of MTY Franchising Inc., whose page for the brand says “The MR. SUB franchise fee is $30,000” and that the brand requires “a total investment of $350,000 to $400,000 for the complete project.” It gives a royalty fee of “6% of gross sales” and an Advertising Fund contribution of “3% of gross sales”. Its FAQ says “A cash requirement of 35%, or $140,000, applies”, though a note under its investment table says 30% of the total investment would be required in cash. The page names no currency; it says MR. SUB has over 200 locations across Canada. More on the brand is in Buying a Mr. Sub franchise in Canada. Treat every figure as unconfirmed until it appears in the disclosure document.

New restaurant or an existing one

Starting under the franchisor’s programme and buying a running restaurant are different purchases. With a resale, the franchisor may need to approve you, and the seller’s agreement may set a transfer fee. Ask what training a transferee gets and which of the seller’s lease and equipment terms carry over. Our guides on buying an existing franchise unit and the buyer’s disclosure on a resale set out the questions.

Fees to expect and the law

The Canadian Franchise Association says a franchisee typically pays an initial franchise fee and ongoing royalties for the right to use the franchisor’s trademarks and business system. MTY’s figures for MR.SUB are above; the disclosure document is what sets the terms. In Ontario the Arthur Wishart Act (Franchise Disclosure), 2000 requires a disclosure document at least 14 days before the earlier of the events it lists, subject to exceptions. The Canadian Franchise Association says several provinces have franchise disclosure legislation, with important differences between them.