Did Subway used to be good?

[Spiderf 4]

Something I've been trying to figure out for a while now. Back in the mid 2000s when Subway restaurants first came to my area, I would eat there regularly and enjoy it. Nowadays, the idea of Subway doesn't entice me nearly as much as it used to. Did they get worse, or did I just tire of it?

(Full disclosure, I've been known to get tired of foods on fairly frequent occasion. My taste is weird an fickle like that. Like, I'm sick of all Chinese food, at least the take home delivery one, I can eat it just fine in a sit down restaurant, but the thought of ordering it at home makes me groan.)

So did Subway get worse, or was it not that good to begin with and the mediocrity eventually wear me down?

Who else likes Subway, or used to like it, or never liked it?

[Kevin Hamilton]

It's fine as it ever was. I'll have one now and again. Subway, like most fast food, is nothing spectacular, but you know what you're gonna get and what it's gonna taste like wherever ya are.

[Annette]

I still like them? However, I prefer Jersey Mike's.

[mizerable]

It's still good.

Is it the best place out there? No. But most chain places aren't. They all have to abide by a standard that has to be universal IE: a simple process that anyone can pick up.

It's just like when I hear people say their local mom and pop place is the best. Obviously, because it doesn't involve plucking some guy off the street that has to abide to corporate policies.

[A Platypus Rave is Correct]

Feb 2, 2017 11:49:40 GMT -5 Kevin Hamilton said:

It's fine as it ever was. I'll have one now and again. Subway, like most fast food, is nothing spectacular, but you know what you're gonna get and what it's gonna taste like wherever ya are.

Pretty much.

[Push R Truth]

I fully believe they've killed the "balance" on a couple of their previously good sandwiches by getting too cheap. Same number of slices, but much thinner. You can literally see through the slices in a cold cut combo/trio now. It tastes like whatever the sauce you put on it. It was not always this way.

The meatball sub appears to have "lost" one of the meatballs. It went from a meatball sub to bread with some sauce and meat. Little things like that tip the scales in sandwich making.

That said, the chopped salads are better.

[Powerline]

Around where I live we now have Firehouse Subs and Planet Sub (which I guess is a KC exclusive place), and I'd put both of those over Subway in a second. And when I want a cold sandwich and I'm not in town (as Subway is the only sandwich place in my hometown) then I'll go to Jimmy John's. But Subway is alright. I pretty much just have either a Steak and Cheese or Meatball sandwich. When I was a kid they had a Caesar chicken sub that was absolutely dynamite, but they don't carry it anymore, and in the rare occasions it's a special for the month, it doesn't live up to what I used to have.

[Kevin Hamilton]

Firehouse is good and definitely better, but man are they proud of their sammiches. It's hard to justify like 8 bucks for a regular sub and a drink.

[y4j1981]

Feb 2, 2017 15:16:06 GMT -5 Powerline said:

But Subway is alright. I pretty much just have either a Steak and Cheese or Meatball sandwich.

This is the exact the subs I get at Subway all the time. I have never even tried anything else there

[edgestar]

I liked the nachos, when they did them at Subway. It was an easy lunch I like the soups and salads there, though

[Deleted]

I don't know what kind of tuna they use but it's delicious

[The Legend of Groose]

The Subway near me is downright awful and they don't do monthly deals anymore (despite having signs for them), not to mention it's overpriced as hell. When a 6 INCH Steak and Cheese is $6.50, you can piss off. Subway was good for the price when it was $5 footlongs, now you can get way better for just as much if not much less.

I use to have Which Wich near me and that place was amazing, so of course it closed down. I've been going to Penn Station to get my sub fix as of late or I'll hit up Jimmy Johns since there's one across the street from where I do my laundry.

[4TheGlory]

I think the quality of their employees and the cleanliness of their restaurants have taken a dip. when you get incompetent service in a dirty location, your food tends to be less enjoyable.

[H-Virus]

Feb 2, 2017 12:42:36 GMT -5 Push R Truth said:

I fully believe they've killed the "balance" on a couple of their previously good sandwiches by getting too cheap. Same number of slices, but much thinner. You can literally see through the slices in a cold cut combo/trio now. It tastes like whatever the sauce you put on it. It was not always this way.

The meatball sub appears to have "lost" one of the meatballs. It went from a meatball sub to bread with some sauce and meat. Little things like that tip the scales in sandwich making.

That said, the chopped salads are better.

This is what I've noticed the last few times I've tried Subway, too. Last time I went I ordered a six-inch chicken bacon ranch and ended up with only about five pieces of the chopped chicken. The first bite I took didn't even have chicken in it.

I used to like Subway a lot back when it was the only sandwich shop around, but since then I've discovered Quizno's (which I don't think even exists anymore, all the chains around me closed down years ago), Jimmy John's, Firehouse and Blimpie's, and now Subway ranks pretty much beneath all of them.

[Surfer Sandman]

Feb 2, 2017 19:16:54 GMT -5 H-Virus said:

I used to like Subway a lot back when it was the only sandwich shop around, but since then I've discovered Quizno's (which I don't think even exists anymore, all the chains around me closed down years ago), Jimmy John's, Firehouse and Blimpie's, and now Subway ranks pretty much beneath all of them.

Used to be more Quiznos here but they didn't last long. I just realized there's one near my apt and I've been going to Subway. Quizno's has better meatball subs.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

I used to like it a lot more. It's not very good. It really isn't.

I liked a local place we had for a while which was similar but they treated you like a king when you walked in. Too bad Pilsbury ran them off.

[y4j1981]

Feb 2, 2017 19:16:54 GMT -5 H-Virus said:

Feb 2, 2017 12:42:36 GMT -5 Push R Truth said:

I fully believe they've killed the "balance" on a couple of their previously good sandwiches by getting too cheap. Same number of slices, but much thinner. You can literally see through the slices in a cold cut combo/trio now. It tastes like whatever the sauce you put on it. It was not always this way.

The meatball sub appears to have "lost" one of the meatballs. It went from a meatball sub to bread with some sauce and meat. Little things like that tip the scales in sandwich making.

That said, the chopped salads are better.

This is what I've noticed the last few times I've tried Subway, too. Last time I went I ordered a six-inch chicken bacon ranch and ended up with only about five pieces of the chopped chicken. The first bite I took didn't even have chicken in it.

I used to like Subway a lot back when it was the only sandwich shop around, but since then I've discovered Quizno's (which I don't think even exists anymore, all the chains around me closed down years ago), Jimmy John's, Firehouse and Blimpie's, and now Subway ranks pretty much beneath all of them.

According to Wiki:

As of the end of 2013, the chain had about 1,500 domestic locations and about 600 international locations. Quiznos is the second-largest submarine sandwich shop chain in North America, after Subway.

Recession and restructuring
Between 2007 and 2009, 1,000 Quiznos stores closed. After the closure of around 2,000 restaurants during the Great Recession, a majority stake in the company was purchased by Avenue Capital Group of New York in January 2012. According to Ed Sealover, the purchase was done in "a deal that eliminated about one-third of the company’s $900 million debt and infused about $150 million cash into the company." Avenue Capital Group brought on turnaround specialist Harsha V. Agadi as Quiznos executive chairman. They also brought on Stuart Mathis as CEO; the former president of The UPS Store stated that the company would try to counteract shrinking sales by promoting "the quality of its food."

Bankruptcy
On March 14, 2014, Quiznos filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado. Quiznos said it would continue operating while it restructured its debt and made operational improvements. Quiznos emerged from bankruptcy about four months later on June 30, 2014, and reduced its debt by about $400 million.

Locations
As of 2015 there are now fewer than 1,000 Quiznos restaurants in the United States.

[A Platypus Rave is Correct]

Yeah, there are less Quizno's but they certainly still exist as there is one near me still.

[Deleted]

In general it seems to be of the same quality, but like any franchise resturaunt it all depends on the location and employees.

The reason I personally stopped eating there so much is that it isn't cheap anymore. It used to be a great option for a meal that was quick, inexpensive, and somewhat healthy but now it seems overpriced.

[Heeltown, USA]

I live in Philly, the hoagie capital of the world. Subway is and always was crap. It's not hard to make a decent sandwich yet they never did. And don't get me started on the smell of their bread.