Posted by Scott Asher | April 15, 2026 | Consumer Issues, Financial Matters
Let me tell you how a sandwich shop receipt turned into a rabbit hole involving cancelled Texas LLCs, a New York financial company called Greystone Business Credit, and a regional Subway overlord headquartered in Colorado Springs.
I’ve been looking into the Subway franchise operations in Albuquerque — specifically the locations in Bernalillo County — after running into something I can only describe as a “security fee” on a receipt. A fee with no explanation, no sign, no notice. Just a line item that appears nowhere on Subway’s corporate menu pricing.
So I did what I do. I started digging.
First: What Is This “Security Fee”?
Subway restaurants are not corporate-owned. Every single location is an independently owned franchise. That means the person behind the register isn’t an employee of Subway corporate — they work for a franchisee who bought the rights to slap the Subway logo on a storefront and follow Subway’s rulebook (mostly).
The problem: those franchise agreements give owners a lot of latitude on how they run the business. And some of them have been using that latitude to quietly add fees to customer receipts.
In early 2024, this blew up nationally when a Reddit user posted a photo of a Subway receipt showing a 10% “service fee” with a posted sign reading:
“A 10% service fee has been added to your check which is used to help pay for our team members’ hourly wages, insurance, and benefits. This will help us keep up with the rising cost of business while keeping the cost of products affordable to all our guests.”
The backlash was immediate. Comments flooded in: “Went to Subway for the last time.” The post went viral on r/mildlyinfuriating. UNILAD and the Daily Dot covered it. Subway corporate was contacted for comment and — predictably — didn’t confirm or deny whether this was a sanctioned practice.
That’s the key thing: Subway corporate did not say this fee was unauthorized. They also didn’t say it was authorized. Classic franchise operator immunity — if it goes wrong, it’s the franchisee’s problem. If it doesn’t, they quietly collect their royalty cut.
Now I’m seeing a variation on this: a “security fee.” Different name, same idea. No explanation. No disclosure before ordering. Just there on the receipt.
California made these “junk fees” illegal in July 2024. New Mexico has no such law — yet.
The Corporate Maze: Who Actually Runs These Subway Locations?
This is where it gets interesting.
In New Mexico, businesses don’t have to register trade names (DBAs). That means a guy can form an LLC called “5901 Eden Dr LLC” and operate it as a Subway franchise, and you’d never know the connection just from looking at the storefront. The Subway brand name is licensed through the franchise agreement — the operating entity is entirely separate.
Here’s the franchise structure in plain English:
- Subway IP LLC (corporate, Connecticut) — owns the brand, collects royalties
- Development Agent (DA) — regional operator who recruits, trains, and monitors franchisees in a territory
- Individual Franchisee LLC — the actual owner of a specific Subway location, operating under their own registered entity
For all of New Mexico and southern Colorado, that Development Agent is Clearstone Development, Inc.
Clearstone Development, Inc.: New Mexico’s Subway Overlord
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Entity Name | Clearstone Development, Inc. |
| Type | Colorado Corporation — Subway Development Agent |
| Principal | John R. Marshall |
| Address | C/O John R. Marshall, 3510 Hartsel Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920 |
| Territory | New Mexico + Southern Colorado (~155 NM locations) |
| Director of Operations | Connie Gemignani |
| Legal History | Named in civil rights lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in franchisee selection |
Important: Clearstone is not the operator. They’re the monitor. They make sure franchise owners follow Subway’s standards. The individual LLCs that actually run the restaurants are separate registered entities.
The Eubank Location: 5850 Eubank Blvd NE, Suite E-20
Let’s get specific. The Subway at 5850 Eubank Blvd NE, Suite E-20, Albuquerque, NM 87111 is one of approximately 23 Subway locations in the Albuquerque area. Phone: (505) 299-5320.
When I went digging into the business entity behind this location, here’s what came up:
5901 Eden Dr, LLC — The Original Operator Entity
Public records aggregators linking the 5850 Eubank address to business entities surfaced a Texas LLC called 5901 Eden Dr, LLC:
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Entity Name | 5901 Eden Dr, LLC |
| State of Formation | Texas |
| Texas Tax ID | 32067306285 |
| Formation Date | May 25, 2018 |
| Current Status | FORFEITED |
| Associated Address | 5850 Eubank Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87111 |
The entity is named after an address — 5901 Eden Dr — which is a residential address in the 87111 zip code near the restaurant. This is a common pattern with franchise LLCs: the owner names the entity after their home address. The fact that it’s a Texas LLC operating a New Mexico restaurant means it would have needed to register as a foreign LLC with the New Mexico Secretary of State.
The LLC is now forfeited — meaning it lost its right to operate in Texas for failure to pay franchise taxes or file required reports. The question is: what active entity replaced it at this location?
Enter: GREYSTONE BUSINESS CREDIT
In the NM SOS filing associated with the Eubank LLC, the name GREYSTONE BUSINESS CREDIT appears. Based on research, this is a financial/lending company based outside New Mexico.
Here’s what public records show about the Greystone Business Credit family of entities:
| Entity | State | Address | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greystone Business Credit II, L.L.C. | NY (DE-formed) | 152 W. 57th St., 60th Fl., New York, NY 10019 | Inactive (withdrawn 2010) | Members: Greystone Real Estate Holdings Corp. + Greystone & Co. Holdings LLC. Sole shareholder: Stephen Rosenberg 2004 Descendants’ Trust |
| Greystone Business Resources Corp. | Ohio / Georgia | 152 W. 57th St., 60th Fl., New York, NY 10019 | Unknown | Same NY address as Credit II entity |
| Greystone & Co., Inc. | NY | New York, NY | Active | Major commercial real estate lender — HUD, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac. $13B+ CRE volume (2023) |
What Greystone Business Credit II was: A commercial lender that provided asset-based loans to businesses. A Second Circuit federal court case (Diesel Props S.r.l. v. Greystone Business Credit II LLC, No. 09-3899, 2d Cir. 2011) confirms it was a lender involved in secured business financing arrangements.
Why this matters for the Eubank Subway: If Greystone Business Credit appears in an NM SOS filing for the Eubank franchise LLC, it’s likely appearing in one of three capacities:
- As a secured creditor — listed in a UCC-1 financing statement filed with the NM SOS, showing they hold a lien on the business assets (equipment, accounts receivable, etc.) as collateral for a loan
- As a registered agent — serving as the legal point of contact for the LLC in New Mexico
- As an organizer or managing member — though this would be unusual for a financial firm
The UCC-1 secured creditor theory is most plausible: a lender who financed the franchise acquisition or equipment would file a UCC-1 lien against the LLC, naming themselves as the secured party. Those filings are searchable through the NM SOS UCC database at enterprise.sos.nm.gov/search/ucc.
All Known Albuquerque Subway Locations
For reference — and so anyone experiencing unexplained fees knows which location to trace — here are the approximately 23 Subway locations in the Albuquerque metro area:
- 113 Eubank NE — CLOSED
- 601 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave NE, 87102
- 933 San Mateo Blvd NE, 87108
- 1306 Gibson Blvd SE, 87106
- 1514 Eubank Blvd NE (second Eubank location)
- 1625 Rio Bravo Blvd SW, 87105
- 2103 Menaul Blvd NE, 87107
- 2115 Vista Oeste Dr NW Suite E, 87120 (Love’s Travel Stop)
- 2200 6th St NW, 87102 (UNM Hospital)
- 2211 Lomas Blvd NE, 87106 (Hoffmantown Square)
- 2225 Wyoming Blvd NE, 87112
- 2400 Rio Grande Blvd NW, 87104
- 2550 Coors Blvd NW, 87120
- 2839 Carlisle Blvd NE, 87110
- 4451 Osuna Rd NE, 87113
- 4801 Alameda Blvd NE, 87113
- 4801 Montano Rd NW, 87120
- 5400 San Mateo Blvd NE, 87109
- 5525 Gibson Blvd SE, 87108
- 5850 Eubank Blvd NE Suite E-20, 87111 ← location under investigation
- 585 Osuna Rd NE, 87113
- 9370 Coors Blvd NW, 87114
- 10401 Golf Course Rd, 87114
- 11111 Menaul Blvd NE, 87112
What You Can Do Right Now
If you were charged a “security fee” or any undisclosed fee at a Subway in Albuquerque, here’s your action checklist:
1. Document It
Keep your receipt. Photograph it. Note the location address, date, and exact fee language. This is your evidence.
2. Look Up the Operator Entity Yourself
The NM Secretary of State business search is public and free: enterprise.sos.nm.gov/search/business. Search by the location address to find the LLC registered there. Look for the registered agent name and any UCC filings.
For UCC liens (which would show Greystone Business Credit if they’re a secured creditor): enterprise.sos.nm.gov/search/ucc — search under “Secured Party Name.”
3. File a Consumer Complaint
- NM Department of Justice — Consumer & Environmental Enforcement: nmdoj.gov/get-help/submit-a-complaint/
- NM Attorney General — Unfair Practices Act complaints: nmag.gov/get-help/ | (844) 255-9210
- BBB Albuquerque: bbb.org/us/nm/albuquerque
- Subway Corporate: 1-800-888-4848 | subway.service-now.com
4. Tell Your Story Online
Post a Google review, a Yelp review, or a Reddit post in r/Albuquerque with your receipt (redact your payment info). The national Subway service fee story only broke because one person posted a photo on Reddit. Local stories deserve the same attention.
5. Contact Local News
KRQE, KOB4, and KOAT all cover consumer protection stories. A pattern of undisclosed fees at multiple Albuquerque locations is exactly the kind of story they’ll run.
The Bottom Line
The Subway at 5850 Eubank has a franchise history involving at least one now-forfeited Texas LLC (5901 Eden Dr, LLC), a connection to an entity called Greystone Business Credit in its NM SOS filings, and the regional oversight of a Colorado Springs development agent that has already been named in a civil rights lawsuit.
None of this is definitive proof of wrongdoing. But here’s what it is: a pattern of opacity around who’s actually responsible when a customer gets charged a fee that was never disclosed, for a service that was never requested.
Franchise law is deliberately complex. It’s designed to give corporate brand owners insulation from liability while extracting value from the franchise relationship. The customer — the person who walked in for a sandwich — is the one left holding the bag when something goes wrong.
I’ll keep updating this as more information comes in. If you’ve had a similar experience at any Albuquerque Subway, drop a comment or use the contact form. The more data points, the better the picture.
— Scott
Research Sources & References
- NM Secretary of State Business Search
- NM Secretary of State UCC Search
- Subway Official Locator — Albuquerque
- Clearstone Development, Inc. — LinkedIn
- UNILAD — Subway 10% Service Fee Story (2024)
- Daily Dot — Subway Service Fee Coverage
- NM DOJ Consumer Complaint Portal
- NM Attorney General — Get Help
- BBB Albuquerque — Subway Profile
- 5901 Eden Dr LLC — Texas Business Record
- Greystone Business Credit II, LLC — Company Profile
- Diesel Props S.r.l. v. Greystone Business Credit II LLC, No. 09-3899 (2d Cir. 2011)
This post documents public records research as of April 15, 2026. It does not constitute legal advice. If you are experiencing unauthorized charges, consult a consumer protection attorney in New Mexico.
