Blimpie still exists, but the chain has downscaled massively over the years. Once boasting nearly 2000 locations in the US, Blimpie currently has fewer than 200 shops left. The reason so many Blimpie locations were shuttered is partially due to Subways success, but it also has to do with how the chain was managed. In 1964, Blimpie founder Tony Conza and his two friends Peter DeCarlo and Angelo Bandassare borrowed $2,000 to open the first shop. Blimpie was a massive success, and the locations quickly multiplied. However, in 1967, "everything began to veer out of control," according to The New York Times. The sandwich shops were generating ample sales but disappearing profits. While the chain was able to find quick fixes for many of its obstacles in order to ensure continued growth, it appears that Blimpies best years pre-date the 2000s. In 2001, the franchise was sold to a private investor group, and locations started to disappear. Kahala Brands, which owns Cold Stone Creamery and Pinkberry, bought Blimpie in 2012 and continues to oversee it today.

The main factors in Blimpies decline were that the subfranchiser rights to the Blimpie Subs chain had largely been sold by the mid-1990s, thus bringing a halt to what had been a steady stream of income. By the turn of the 2000s, Blimpie International was struggling. As Blimpies struggles continued, investors showed little interest in the company, and the price of the companys stock sagged. Seeing little benefit in being a publicly traded firm, Blimpie joined the growing ranks of restaurant companies fleeing the public market. In October 2001, a private investor group led by Jeffrey K. Endervelt agreed to buy Blimpie International for $25.7 million. The transaction was completed in January 2002, whereupon Endervelt took over as chairman, president, and chief executive officer, and Conza, a partner in the investor group, remained in an advisory capacity. In 2006, Kahala Corp. acquired Blimpie, and it became the tenth brand franchised.