The Subway in Marion, located at 1537 Highway 5 South, officially shut its doors on Thursday, June 9th. Since February of 2020, it has been Marion’s only chain restaurant after the Hardees on Washington closed. The restaurant had been in operation since 2000. It changed locations in 2012 and moved next to the now defunct Freds, where it remained until its closing last Thursday. The closing was sudden and unannounced, with all of the equipment and branding material being moved on Thursday afternoon. The location’s page on Google states that it is temporarily closed but Lucius Rayfield, the owner of the shopping center, confirmed that the franchise had shut down for good.
Rayfield said that the owners had been trying to sell for the past several months. They contacted other Subway owners in Selma and Tuscaloosa but ultimately they were unable to sell the franchise. Rayfield tried to secure a buyer himself but despite his best efforts he could not. Rayfield said he had known for about a month that the restaurant was shutting down but did not know the exact date. He stated that he is still interested in trying to rent the property out if he can find a business willing to rent the location. Rayfield said he hopes to find a renter whose business will be good for the City of Marion.
With Hardees and Subway now gone, Marion is without a major chain restaurant. Hardees left right before the pandemic and now Subway has shut its doors. With Subway gone, only Food-Valu and Marion Family Dentistry occupy the shopping center on Highway 5, one of Marion’s most prominent shopping locations.
