SUBWAY IS NOW the biggest restaurant chain in the world after overtaking McDonald’s in terms of the number of units it now has worldwide.

At the end of 2010, Subway, the home of the footlong sandwich, had 33,749 restaurants worldwide, in comparison to McDonald’s which had 32,737, the BBC reports.

Subway achieved its rapid growth, in part, by opening outlets in non-traditional locations around the world.

These include a car showroom in California, an appliance store in Brazil, a ferry terminal in Seattle, a riverboat in Germany, a zoo in Taiwan, a Goodwill store in South Carolina, a high school in Detroit and even a church in New York, according to the Wall Street Journal.

But McDonald’s is still the leader when it comes to sales. It reported $24 billion in revenue last year.

The burger giant also appeared to be unconcerned about the news of Subway’s growth with a spokesperson saying it was more about quality than quantity, according to the Daily Mail:

We remain focused on listening to and serving our customers, and are committed to being better, not just bigger.