TORONTO – Subway is growing steadily in Canada, despite not joining the coffee beverage wars favored by McDonald’s and Tim Hortons, the Financial Post reports.

Fred DeLuca, Subway’s president and co-founder, said the non-participation is not necessarily deliberate, but that the company’s “beverage strategy” is still in its development phase.

“When it comes to coffee and beverages, [McDonalds and Tim Hortons] are way ahead of where we are — they have a lot of people going to their restaurants for coffee and a variety of beverages,” DeLuca said. Meanwhile, Subway is growing in Canada, with 2,930 stores. Sales increased 7% to U.S. $1.6 billion last year, and the sandwich chain is on track to open up to 150 new franchised locations in Canada in 2013.

“Over time we have seen same-store sales increases, some years more than others, even during the recession, so this has been a really good [market] for us,” he said.

DeLuca attributed a good portion of the company’s success to its 2008 “$5 Footlong” campaign, which took the “jumble of prices that we had on the menu board and simplif[ied] it for customers,” he said. “Sometimes, you just get lucky...“

While fancy coffee beverages, smoothies and juices have led to increased sales for many QSRs, Subway has stayed out of the fray — for now.

“That is an opportunity for us,” DeLuca said. “It is always good to know you have a future. We haven’t done that well in the beverage space yet, and we have no plans on the immediate horizon to become a big challenger in that space.

But maybe next year, or the following year, we will hit our stride.”