Did Subway really serve the "worst taco of all time"?
And do you remember when they had pizzas?
Keep watching to learn more about how some of Subway's menu heroes turned into zeroes.
Most people wouldn't head to a burger joint for a taco; likewise, ordering pizza at a
sandwich place sounds just as sacrilegious.
Still, in 2014, Subway launched the Flatizza:
"Fluh-what-zuh?"
"Flatizza!"
"That's it, Justin!"
It was a mini flatbread pizza, available in pepperoni, veggie, spicy Italian, and plain
cheese varieties.
The pies initially came in at the very affordable price of two for $5, but eventually increased
to $3.50 each.
Subway's descriptions of Flatizzas sounded downright delicious, calling the cheese version
"an exciting combination of warm marinara sauce and bubbly mozzarella cheese on a toasty
flatbread."
But the Flatizza didn't deliver.
A reviewer on grubgrade.com wrote:
"Ragu Pizza Quick [Sauce] Vibe.
Overall GrubGrade: 6.25/10."
The Flatizza went the way of the dodo bird and is no longer a part of Subway's menu lineup.
For any fans hankering for a pizza-inspired sub can order one off their "secret menu"
according to Wide Open Eats.
The saucy sub includes marinara sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and your
choice of veggies on a toasted Italian bun.
In 2014, Subway received a great deal of bad publicity and pressure to remove azodicarbonamide,
a chemical compound also found in yoga mats, from its bread recipe.
As it turns out, though, the chemical is found in nearly 500 common brands and products,
according to the Environmental Working Group.
Eventually, Subway phased out the ingredient, but their slow response was a flop in itself
that was difficult to recover from.
Adding to the bread chemical debacle, an Irish court ruled that, due to its high sugar content
of more than five grams per six-inch sub roll, the bread shouldn't even be classified as
bread at all, but rather as a confectionary.
The ruling, citing Ireland's Value-Added Tax Act of 1972, stated that the sugar and fat
in the bread, quote, "should not exceed 2% of the weight of flour included in the dough."
But a Subway spokesperson protested, saying,
"Subway's bread is, of course, bread.
We have been baking fresh bread in our stores for more than three decades and our guests
return each day for sandwiches made on bread that smells as good as it tastes."
Subway now boasts five mainstay bread choices: 9 Grain Wheat, Multi-Grain Flatbread, Italian,
Italian Herbs & Cheese, and regular Flatbread.
Select locations offer Hearty Italian, 9-Grain Honey Oat, Jalapeño Cheese, Monterey Cheddar,
Parmesan Oregano, Roasted Garlic, Rosemary & Sea Salt, Rye Bread, and Gluten-Free Bread.
Their website invites customers to "follow the smell of our baking bread," so perhaps
their bread brouhaha has died down — but it's fascinating that the foundational element
of Subway's product has threatened multiple times to be their undoing.
"Ah, this bread.
'Tis a wee bit sweet.
Might have to look into it.
Tastes a bit like sugar.
Did I mix up the flour with the sugar?"
Certain sauces and dressings have disappeared from Subway's menu because they failed to
capture customers' attention and just weren't being requested much.
Italian and Sriracha were among those discontinued, and a few others are potentially on their
way out.
According to an employee in a Subway Reddit thread:
"Our store has not discontinued its Caesar dressing, but we barely sell one sandwich
with it per week if it's bottled, so it's often the one dressing that expires and gets
tossed out."
A Ranker survey of favorite Subway toppings lists mayonnaise at number 5, Chipotle Southwest
Sauce at number 13.
Sweet Onion Sauce comes in at number 14, and mustard at number 20 as fan favorite sauces.
Zesty Italian is #26, and Caesar didn't even make the list, so most customers probably
won't notice their absence.
On the other hand, some customers will go to great lengths to champion their absolute
favorite Subway sauces.
A patron of Subway India started an online petition at change.org to bring back the franchise's
barbecue and Caesar sauces.
The petition didn't get very far, though, garnering only 15 supporters — landing these
and a handful of other sauces firmly in flop territory.
As of 2018, Subway no longer was requiring franchisees to serve breakfast.
Low interest in their breakfast options was to blame.
A Bloomberg study revealed more than 40% of Subway customers didn't stop there for breakfast,
and 19% didn't even know they offered the morning meal.
Other reasons cited for change include staffing shortages and intimidating breakfast competitors
such as Wendy's, Dunkin' Donuts, and McDonald's.
In an email to Business Insider, James Walker, vice president of Subway North America, said,
"We are continuously evaluating every consumer touchpoint (including hours of operation,
menu, day part, etc.) and making adjustments as needed to help Subway franchisees be more
successful."
Ultimately, each individual business owner has the final say on whether breakfast stays
or goes, but Subway's official menu makes no mention of bacon and eggs.
It probably did not help much that the eggs were shipped to franchisees in the form of
floppy, unappetizing disks, according to Business Insider.
Some fast food restaurants' breakfast offerings are arguably the best part of their menu.
Unfortunately, in Subway's case, it's quite the opposite.
In 2020, Subway made the unpopular decision to stop selling both roast beef and rotisserie
chicken, reportedly because they were the two most expensive meat toppings on their
menu.
The menu cuts were a big flop, though, with angry franchisees and customers flooding Subway
with complaints.
Rotisserie chicken loyalist Joseph "The Demon" Albanese cried "fowl," tweeting at Subway,
"Discontinuing rotisserie chicken?
Seriously?
Your own workers actually said today 'do not know why, stupid move with one of our top
sellers.'
Probably won't care just thought you might want to know what is a pretty dumb move."
The meaty favorites weren't gone for long, though.
An article in Nation's Restaurant News reports that roast beef and rotisserie chicken are
back on Subway's menu as of late 2021.
Not only have the favorites returned, the chain is now offering new chicken options
including a Chicken & Bacon Ranch with bacon, Monterey cheddar cheese, and peppercorn Ranch
sauce.
They've also added a Baja Chicken & Bacon featuring chicken, pepper Jack cheese, and
a new Baja Chipotle sauce.
Their new roast beef sub is made with USDA Choice Angus roast beef, lettuce, tomatoes,
spinach, green peppers, onions, and cucumbers.
Hopefully they don't make the mistake of removing this menu item again.
Fans of taco creations in the UK will have to run for the border, not Subway, since Britain-based
franchisees removed taco beef from their offerings in 2019.
A Subway spokesperson explained,
"We're adding lots of exciting new menu options and there are more to come.
This meant we had to say goodbye to some of our less-loved ingredients."
Taco-meat enthusiasts can order a Subway taco, billed as, quote, "a sub filled with ground
beef and salsa" in Japan, where it debuted in 2015.
Foodbeast's take on this taco, however, wasn't so flattering, describing it as "sketchy ground
beef, covered with a ton of lettuce, wrapped in flat bread."
USA Today writer Nick Swartz called the creation "the worst taco of all time," before specifying
that "it's not even a taco."
Japan isn't the only place in the universe one can try their luck at finding an adequate
Subway taco.
"Subway Skippergata" in Oslo, Norway calls their version "A TexMex inspired sub with
taco flavored minced chicken and nachos.
Superb with salsa and Rømme sauce."
"Rømme" means sour cream in Norwegian, we looked it up — you're welcome.
Overall, this sandwich doesn't look too bad.
But it does prove that you may have to travel the world to find an adequate taco, or taco-esque
offering from Subway, because in most locations, it seems to be a bust.
Over the years, Subway has offered up a $5 footlong deal as a means to stand out from
the competition.
Can't you just hear the incessant "five-dollar footlong" jingle from their commercial in
your head?
"Five-dollar, five-dollar footlong."
The last time the chain did a big push for the promotion was in 2020, but it only lasted
a few weeks according to Restaurant Business.
The online industry magazine cited poor timing — it was during the pandemic, when many
were out of work — and a lack of franchisee support — considering only 71% participated
in the promotion — as reasons the promotion fizzled.
As if removing the $5 deal were not enough, Subway had also recently battled yet another
lawsuit claiming their footlongs did not measure up to their name and fell short of the full
promised 12 inches.
Apparently some footlongs only measure between 11 and 11.5 inches.
The courts rejected the lawsuit, though.
The plaintiff's co-lead attorney, Thomas Zimmerman, remarked,
"It was difficult to prove monetary damages, because everybody ate the evidence."
But really, Subway had already strayed from the $5 footlong model long before their failed
promotional event.
Most Subway sandwiches are now priced at $6 and up; considering rising labor and operation
costs, not to mention inflation, it wasn't sustainable to keep selling them for a Lincoln.
It seems the $5 footlong, once synonymous with Subway's image, was always doomed to fail.
Subway regulars may recall a "Subway Club" punch card that allowed them to earn rewards,
such as a free sub, after a certain number of visits.
Cardholders would receive one free 6- or 12-inch sub free after they earned six punches for
either, buy six of either size, get one free.
A drink purchase of any size was also required, and double meat, extra cheese, bacon, and
avocado cost extra.
Although many may have received stamps worthy of a freebie, the club was discontinued in
2005 due to fraud.
Tech-savvy swindlers were creating fake punch cards so they could abuse the rewards program.
Wired reported that some were even selling the cards on eBay.
Fivestars Insights deemed Subway Club a "loyalty program blunder," condemning the paper cards
as "easy to copy with photo-altering software."
Subway now offers MyWay Rewards, an app allowing customers to earn rewards such as free cookies,
free delivery, and buy one, get one free deals.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Mashed videos about your favorite chain restaurants are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.