Port of Subs opened a location at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay on September 30, 2026 — simultaneously the brand's first unit on a U.S. military installation, its first international location, and its first restaurant operated through a partnership with Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM). The 54-year-old sandwich chain, which counts more than 120 domestic locations, now extends its footprint well beyond its traditional Western U.S. base.
The NEXCOM Partnership
NEXCOM — which manages retail and foodservice operations across Navy installations worldwide — selected Port of Subs as a dining partner to expand on-base food options for Sailors, their families, installation leadership, and civilian personnel. The Guantánamo Bay unit sits near the entrance to the Navy Exchange, offering freshly sliced sandwiches, salads, and wraps in the made-to-order format the brand has built its identity around since 1972. NEXCOM reinvests its earnings into Navy quality-of-life programs, meaning the foodservice revenue generated at the location feeds directly back into base community support.
"Opening at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay is a proud moment in our company's history, and the opportunity to serve this community is an honor," said Healey Mendicino, President and CEO of Port of Subs. "It is a privilege to serve the men and women who serve our country, and the families who support them."
Military Channel Context
Military exchange foodservice is a meaningful but often overlooked noncommercial channel for branded QSR concepts. NEXCOM, AAFES (Army & Air Force Exchange Service), and the Marine Corps Exchange collectively operate hundreds of branded food locations across domestic and overseas installations, offering franchise and licensing partners access to a captive, underserved consumer base with stable foot traffic. For a regional chain like Port of Subs — concentrated historically in Nevada and the Mountain West — a NEXCOM agreement represents a channel-diversification play that sidesteps the competitive intensity of traditional strip-center or travel-plaza development.
The military angle also carries organizational weight for Port of Subs' parent entity, Area 15 Ventures. Chairman Dave Liniger and Managing Partner Adam Contos are both military veterans, a background that likely smoothed the relationship-building required to land an overseas installation deal.
What's Next
Port of Subs has not publicly disclosed how many additional NEXCOM locations are in its development pipeline, but the Guantánamo Bay opening establishes the operational template — supply chain, training, and brand standards — for potential follow-on military units. For operators tracking franchise development trends in the sandwich and sub segment, the NEXCOM channel offers a differentiated growth lever that avoids direct head-to-head competition with Subway's dominant civilian-side footprint.
The broader foodservice-at-nontraditional-venue trend has been a consistent theme across the convenience and food retail sectors. Just as c-store foodservice programs have expanded into made-to-order subs and fresh-sliced deli formats to compete with QSR, military exchange operators are similarly upgrading their branded dining mix. Port of Subs' entry into the channel signals that regional sandwich chains with strong operational discipline can compete for those contracts alongside national players.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
