Frederick Adrian DeLuca (October 3, 1947 – September 14, 2015) was an American businessman, who was the co-founder and president of the Subway franchise of fast food restaurants with Peter Buck. During his tenure, Subway grew into the largest franchise in the world. Early life and education Fred DeLuca was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 3, 1947 to Italian American parents Carmela and Salvatore DeLuca. At the age of 10, DeLuca moved to Amsterdam, New York, where he and his family became friends with Peter Buck. Once in his teens, he moved with his family to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he graduated from Central High School in 1965. DeLuca realized a dream of his to go to college and graduated from the University of Bridgeport. Career In 1965, 17-year-old DeLuca borrowed $1,000 from family friend Peter Buck. This was after Buck suggested the idea to help DeLuca make money for college to study medicine. DeLuca's plan was to begin a "fast-food venture that provided a healthful, less fattening bill of fare". On the radio advertisement they had promoted the name as "Pete's Submarines," which sounded like "Pizza Marines", so they changed the name to "Pete's Subway." Eventually in 1968, it was shortened to simply "Subway" as it is known today. Early years of Subway With the help of his mother Carmela and Dr. Buck, the first shop opened on August 28, 1965, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The first year of business was a learning experience and a challenge. A year later they opened their second location, having realized that visibility and marketing were key factors to success. DeLuca believed that the biggest mistake he made was where he set up his very first shop as it was a "crummy location." The third outlet was in a highly visible location and that location is still there today. Fred DeLuca ran Subway as a family business, with his mother running the first shop, his sister working as a "sandwich artist" and even his wife Elisabeth worked in the corporate office. Every Monday, Dr. Buck would visit the DeLuca household and visit Carmela and Fred to discuss the Subway business. As time went on, they eventually turned to a franchising model which is when they saw their growth explode. In 1978, Subway's 100th store opened, and reached the 1,000 store mark in 1987. Explosive growth continued with Subway opening 1,100 units in 1993.