DENVER — Quiznos on Tuesday unveiled plans to develop up to 600 new stores nationwide by the end of 2010. The planned expansion, which will include both corporate-owned stores as well as Quiznos-funded joint venture ownership opportunities for qualified entrepreneurs, will create more than 7,500 new jobs, fueling market-level economic growth in communities nationwide, Quiznos said.

Rick Schaden, Quiznos’ founder and chief executive officer, said establishing a stronger presence of Quiznos-owned stores “also allows us to more closely align with our franchise owners, identifying and advancing best practices at the store level to elevate our brand’s operations overall.”

Quiznos recently recapitalized and restructured its existing debt and equity structure in order to fund expansion and facilitate greater flexibility for growth. By doing so, Quiznos said it is able to dedicate its own capital to the new store openings.

“Quiznos has the solid financial position to accelerate and enable tremendous growth,” said Bill Flaherty, chief development officer for Quiznos. “This initiative will have a direct effect not only on Quiznos’ growth, but on that of job creation in communities where we seek to engage with more than 7,500 growth-minded and experienced general, district and regional managers and in-store team members.”

In addition to new store development, Quiznos said it is refreshing its brand identity, renovating in-store design, increasing its value proposition for budget-conscious customers, introducing green packaging and practices for more sustainable operations, and enhancing its menu for even broader customer appeal.