the fallout of their pedophile spokesperson (Jared was his name, i think); there are plenty of better places to get subs. And apparently hooters has been crashing and burning for years, as have many in that particular niche.

.... so that their stores were literally competing with each other, and over-saturating local markets.

They were the fastest growing restaurant chain in the world for a period of time, and yes, they opened so many stores that you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting a Subway. Just about as bad as Starbucks in some locales

They have opened a franchise inside of many Loves, Pilot and Flying J truck stops as well.

Franchisors want the franchises to succeed. They can sell more franchises when the existing ones do well. Usually they have a territory that others can't come into. Perhaps the franchisor got greedy for the fees they charge to own one.

Retail credit cards have higher rates now, and corporate financing is more expensive. And these firms need to meet the next few financial quarter's earnings targets.