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Mr. Sub vs. Subway
- Thread starter wild goose chase
- Start date
narduch
Senior Member
Subway is the McDonald's of the sub world. Most of their meat is processed and gross.
Mr. Sub isn't much better and has gone downhill over the years, but I guess that happens when some American behemoth chain pushes you aside.
Mr. Sub isn't much better and has gone downhill over the years, but I guess that happens when some American behemoth chain pushes you aside.
the lemur
Senior Member
I don't know in what way the meat at Mr Sub wouldn't also be 'processed'. Processing (brining, curing, smoking, etc.) is what turns meat into cold cuts.
I have a slight preference for Subway but I don't really go there anymore unless it's the best of a bad bunch of limited choices (e.g., in a food court at an airport). Even before the story broke about the 'yoga mat' chemical in their bread, I noticed that even just being in the store would result in a strange smell clinging to my clothes that I would describe as 'artificial fresh bread'.
When Subway says they 'bake their own bread fresh every day', it means employees open boxes of frozen sticks of dough, proof them and then bake them, so 'fresh' is relative. Maybe Mr Sub and Quizno's do something similar, I don't know. I've come to suspect that the dough has some kind of additive that is meant to accentuate the 'freshly baked' scent so as to suggest someone was kneading the dough in the kitchen not too long ago.
My preference for Subway is mostly sentimental in that I had a summer job there years ago so my sense of it is influenced by what it used to be.
They changed the way they cut the bread after I worked there and that's never really sat right with me. The store I worked in also had an iced tea/peach juice dispenser, which I've never seen since.
narduch
Senior Member
With respect to the meat, I was mostly talking about what they try to pass off as beef or chicken. And don't ever read the ingredients for what they try to pass off as a breakfast 'egg'. Its not pretty.
As for the bread, what they do is fairly standard. The 'fresh' bread at a Walmart or Longo's is cooked the same way (ie: frozen bread that is 'proofed' and then cooked).
AndreaPalladio
Senior Member
Same at Ace Bakery.
Bruno Republic
Active Member
For many years (and possibly even now, for some locations, still was the case the last time I went to one) Mr. Sub had no pretense of baking anything at all. The buns came out of plastic bags, already stale once they'd reached the shop. Same style and quality as the cheap hotdog buns you get at the supermarket: dry and flavourless.
When Subway began taking away their market share because freshly-baked bread was a draw, some Mr. Sub locations started doing the same.
the lemur
Senior Member
Ah, I see. I don't have any insight into the quality of that meat, but I'm not assuming it's prime anything. As for eggs, yeah, unless you have someone in a decent kitchen-like set-up to do short orders it's going to be some kind of heat & serve preparation (this also accounts for eggs on planes being what they are).
ticky
Active Member
Does Mr. Sub advertise at all? I mean, I don't really pay attention to television commercials too much, but I know I see Subway commercials a few times a week but don't recall seeing a Mr. Sub one anytime recently.
Personally, I choose Subway as a) I've never lived or worked near a Mr. Sub or Quiznos, and b) I only went to Subway in my former country of residence and don't want to learn a whole new menu and ordering process.
Personally, I choose Subway as a) I've never lived or worked near a Mr. Sub or Quiznos, and b) I only went to Subway in my former country of residence and don't want to learn a whole new menu and ordering process.
wild goose chase
Active Member
I don't think I've seen a Mr. Sub ad since the "There's always something good going down at Mr. Sub" slogan, probably at latest early 2000s maybe, by my recollection?
uto123
Active Member
I definitely prefer Mr. Sub to Subway (I think they use slightly higher quality ingredients) but I almost never see a location around.
I think Quiznos is a little better than Subway too.
I think Quiznos is a little better than Subway too.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
Subway is American, founded in 1965 and named "Subway" in 1968.
Mr. Sub was originally "Mr. Submarine" and founded in 1968. It used to be the only submarine sandwich shop in Canada until the U.S. sandwich shops invaded Canada.
Mr. Sub was originally "Mr. Submarine" and founded in 1968. It used to be the only submarine sandwich shop in Canada until the U.S. sandwich shops invaded Canada.
Armour
Senior Member
...And what a bloody invasion it was. So many families needlessly torn apart.
Jonny5
Senior Member
I would also file Subway as a last resort option out of desperation. The value is barley OK for the basic subs if you like to load them with the vegetable toppings - though the quality of those is also often low, especially the tomatoes. The premium menu options are marketing junk and not worth the cost. Hilarious to see them try and sell 'Atlantic Canadian Lobster' sub as an "authentic maritime experience" at $8 for a six-inch. I pity those suckered in to that.
Subway probably lowers costs from their incredible concentration of stores in the core. Almost every single office tower in the PATH has a Subway, except I think First Canadian Place. Plus there are several above ground in the PATH area too. There are 6 locations within a 6 minute walk from the door to my office. I wonder if they do group lease negotiations with the big property companies, like getting a deal by negotiating leases on 20 different locations from Cadillac Fairview or Oxford all at once. I don't think Mr. Sub has an in to compete with that anymore.
Subway probably lowers costs from their incredible concentration of stores in the core. Almost every single office tower in the PATH has a Subway, except I think First Canadian Place. Plus there are several above ground in the PATH area too. There are 6 locations within a 6 minute walk from the door to my office. I wonder if they do group lease negotiations with the big property companies, like getting a deal by negotiating leases on 20 different locations from Cadillac Fairview or Oxford all at once. I don't think Mr. Sub has an in to compete with that anymore.
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wild goose chase
Active Member
Looks like the people voting in the poll so far don't seem to show the drastic contrast in popularity as you'd expect by looking around for the stores in real life.
There still seems to be a sizeable fraction here who like Mr. Sub perhaps relative to the general public, though of course the sample size of people on this thread is small too.
There still seems to be a sizeable fraction here who like Mr. Sub perhaps relative to the general public, though of course the sample size of people on this thread is small too.
DowntownCoder
New Member
Mr. Sub sends out flyers occasionally (I got one last week), otherwise the only marketing I see nowadays are ads on the boards/ice at Leafs and Raptors games.
I recently heard from a family friend who is involved in a few locations (not around here) that a big chunk of their ad budget is tied up in those Leafs ads, due to a long-term deal with MLSE signed a few years ago when the chain was under different management. The chain's current ownership (MTY Group) has apparently tried to buy MLSE out of the deal on several occasions to no avail.