One of the largest Subway franchisees in Texas filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, eight days after losing an appeal in a multimillion-dollar wrongful death lawsuit.
River Sub, based in San Antonio and with 48 Subway restaurants, is seeking to reorganize its business and filed its Subchapter V bankruptcy petition June 20. The company listed between $1 million and $10 million in both assets and liabilities, according court documents, but did not provide a reason for the filing.
It’s largest debt, of $2.97 million, is owed to the estate of Marisela Cadena, a 43-year-old manager who was murdered in February 2020 by her ex-boyfriend while working at one of River Sub’s San Antonio Subway locations.
Franchisees Martha Jordan, Cathy Amato and Rick Riley founded River Sub in 1991. Jordan and Amato “actively manage the business,” the filing noted, while Riley retired in 2021. He retained a 32.3 percent ownership stake.
River Sub’s strategy, the filing said, “was to open Subway restaurants in a variety of markets, including markets deemed demographically undesirable by other quick-service restaurant operators.” The company “continuously employed a majority of minority and low-income team members and developed them into future leaders for Subway.” Ninety percent of its management started as “sandwich artists,” Subway’s term for entry-level workers, the company said.
Amato and Jordan served on Subway franchisee associations, the brand’s advertising boards and other advisory committees of Subway franchisees.
At its largest in 2012, River Sub owned 69 restaurants, but closed 21 shops since then, the result of “restaurant saturation as well as the COVID pandemic.” The company last year did “slightly less” than $30 million in sales, according to court documents; it employs 454 workers.
Store closures for Subway have mounted in recent years. The company closed more than 400 U.S. restaurants in 2023. The Miami-based sandwich giant finished the year with 20,133 U.S. locations, its lowest number of restaurants since 2005. Subway has closed 7,000 locations since 2015.
River Sub on June 12 lost its appeal of a nearly $3 million award declared by a Texas arbitrator in April 2023. In court filings for that case, the survivors of Cadena contend she was denied a request to transfer to another store three days before being shot and killed by ex-boyfriend Andrew Munoz. River Sub “failed to implement proper security measures,” resulting in Cadena’s murder “while working alone at the Subway she managed,” according to court documents.
Amato and Jordan continue to operate River Sub during the business reorganization.
Subway corporate and Ray Battaglia, a San Antonio bankruptcy attorney representing River Sub, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.