Subway Closes Tulum Restaurant After Nearly Three Decades

Tulum, Quintana Roo — After almost three decades in business, the Subway restaurant at Plaza Mundo Mágico, near the Tulum archaeological zone, has closed permanently, ending a long commercial run in one of the municipality’s busiest tourist areas.

On Saturday, workers were seen hauling the last of the furniture and equipment out of the unit — refrigerators, tables, chairs and other items — while rent signs already hung on the storefront. The space that housed the well-known fast-food franchise for years now stands empty.

Local business owners said the restaurant opened between 1998 and 1999, giving it roughly 27 to 28 years of operation. It stayed open throughout several changes in ownership of the building, with the chain continuing to rent the space.

The closure removes one of the longest-standing commercial establishments in that part of Tulum, where for years it served as a food option for workers, residents and Mexican and foreign visitors.

A Broader Retreat From Tulum

Subway’s exit is not an isolated case. In early October, the Starbucks branch at kilometer 7.5 of the Tulum–Boca Paila highway, in the heart of the hotel zone, also shut down permanently after 11 years in business.

Those closures come alongside a growing list of hotels, restaurants and other businesses that have also begun shutting their doors, including Santander bank, which will close its Tulum branch as well.

The departure of brands that spent years operating in Tulum highlights the shifts under way in the destination’s commercial and tourism activity.