# Quiznos Sub franchises closing - what's up? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116 "2010-11-27T23:57:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/1 "2010-11-27T23:57:52Z")
Recently two Quiznos sub-shops in our area closed (South shore Nassau County, Long Island) - googling around, I see that over 1000 Quiznos franchises have closed since 2007, and while Wiki (and other sites) claim that the management is looking for a strategy to ‘grow the chain back’, closing more locations in a underserved area doesn’t seem to be it (googling also brings up more reports of various Quiznos outlets closing in 2010 - more anecdata…). The Quiznos Wiki entry claims many franchises were not profitable (believable), while other sites claim Quiznos top management is not very competent and is squeezing the franchises, all the while letting the Quiznos chain decline (come to think of it, this is not mutually exclusive with the Wiki statement). So is Quiznos destined to disappear (and end up re-animating the ‘defunct restaurant chain’ zombie thread)? Shame if this happens, since I liked many of their menu items as compared to Subway (Blimpie locations are harder to find around here, and they are not as good as they used to be even a decade ago - although oddly enough the nearest Blimpie location is now closer than the nearest Quiznos location due to the Quiznos closures). ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/2 "2010-11-28T00:19:05Z")
I stopped going there because I was really tired of them very carefully measuring out very small portions of meat for my sandwiches. I mean, really? You’re that petty and cheap? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/3 "2010-11-28T00:37:10Z")
I ate at quiznos maybe 3 times and each time got a bad sandwich. I don’t care that much for Subway. For me, it’s Jersey Mikes or nuthin, unless there is a Togos where I can get a pastrami rueben. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/4 "2010-11-28T00:59:16Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I stopped going there because I was really tired of them very carefully measuring out very small portions of meat for my sandwiches. I mean, really? You’re that petty and cheap? At my store we weigh everything and we’re only making a few dozen sandwiches. Seriously, pennies really do make a difference. Wiki says they have 4000 locations. If each one gave away an extra 50¢ worth of meat a day that’s $730,000 per year off their bottom line. 75¢ puts it at over a million dollars. Even just looking at an individual store, 50¢ is $182 per year, that enough to cover a weeks pay for a part time employee. And, I’ll tell you, when you have meats that cost the store $3-$5 per pound, you can count on that one or two extra slices adding up to more then 50¢ over the course of a day. Culinary Art majors take an entire semester long class just on controlling food cost. Waste has a impact on a restaurant’s bottom line. I know of some restaurants where the head chef has his cooks use a small clear plastic container for their waste when they’re cutting vegetables or removing the fat from steaks just so he can make sure they get every last usable bit of the product. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/5 "2010-11-28T01:00:23Z")
I’ve eaten at the Quizno’s near the courthouse maybe a dozen times, and have always had a good meal. Hope they don’t close this one. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/6 "2010-11-28T01:02:35Z")
I used to be a big fan of Quizno’s. Then their commercials turned me off, and I just never got around to going back. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/7 "2010-11-28T01:02:57Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I’ve eaten at the Quizno’s near the courthouse maybe a dozen times, and have always had a good meal. Hope they don’t close this one. I’m thinking I’ll stop at my local one tomorrow. At the very least it’s probably better for me then the manhole sized greasy burger I was planning to get from one of my favorite places. ---
**Author:** ![ExcitedIdiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ea5d25/32.png) [@ExcitedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExcitedIdiot)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/8 "2010-11-28T01:05:57Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I stopped going there because I was really tired of them very carefully measuring out very small portions of meat for my sandwiches. I mean, really? You’re that petty and cheap? It’s funny that people seem to always react poorly to this. When a local homemade ice cream parlor started weighing their dishes of ice cream, I heard from several people how cheap it was. Portion control is very important if you’re running a restaurant. If your portions are always +/- 20%, you can’t accurately set prices. I don’t understand why this is a problem. No one complains that their bag of chips is exactly 4.5 ounces, or that coke is petty and cheap for making every can 12oz. Sorry for the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/9 "2010-11-28T01:08:18Z")
Also, you have to remember, most every restaurant weighs everything, you just don’t see it happening, but go into a kitchen and you’ll see scales near all the work stations. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/10 "2010-11-28T01:29:51Z")
I haven’t gone to Quiznos much, but I’ve always enjoyed their food. The biggest problem was that, whenever I ate it around other people, I’d invariably get comments about how it’s too expensive. I thought the extra cost was worth it, because they seemed like pretty hefty sandwiches. Then a few years ago they announced that they were lowering their prices, but then their sandwiches seemed smaller to me. Portion control is all well and good, but if they’re now as meticulous about measuring in front of you as **Chimera** said, they’re going to give customers the feeling that they’re determined not to give them a decent value for their money. Subway is smart in that they weigh everything where customers won’t see it. Those stacks of little cardboard trays full of steak strips aren’t just to speed up preparation. When did Subway start toasting their subs? That probably enabled them to gain a lot of market share from Quiznos. A quick look at the [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subway_%28restaurant%29) [entries](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiznos) reveals that Coca-Cola helped to pay the rollout costs on the toaster ovens in exchange for exclusivity. At the same time, Quiznos switched from Coke to Pepsi; this was in 2006, according to the Quiznos entry. That roughly coincides with the mass closures. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/11 "2010-11-28T01:35:07Z")
I’ve been to Quiznos twice and both times the bun was burnt - not toasted, burnt. I haven’t been back. Besides, their commercials usually annoy me. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/12 "2010-11-28T01:38:07Z")
Same thing happened here with [Schlotzsky’s Deli](http://www.schlotzskys.com/). I used to eat there nearly every Saturday but they started shrinking thier sandwiches down and charging more. Next thing ya know, they’re gone. Here anyway, I see they still have stores elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/13 "2010-11-28T01:58:18Z")
I think the quality may have slipped. I remember being really impressed with my first Quiznos sub, ages ago. The few times I’ve been back in the past few years, I’ve been unimpressed. Meagre and overpriced is a bad combination. My wife seems to think it’s a valid lunch option, but when it comes to food court fare I’ll choose Tacotime over Quiznos. (Tacotime is fucking repulsive, but if I’m going to eat mediocre food I’d rather not pay premium prices for the privilege.) ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/14 "2010-11-28T02:23:42Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Same thing happened here with [Schlotzsky’s Deli](http://www.schlotzskys.com/). I used to eat there nearly every Saturday but they started shrinking thier sandwiches down and charging more. Next thing ya know, they’re gone. Here anyway, I see they still have stores elsewhere. Fucking Schlotskis. Love that place. They had a sandwich with marinated mushrooms on it that was out of this world. Don’t have them here though ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/15 "2010-11-28T02:29:21Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Portion control is all well and good, but if they’re now as meticulous about measuring in front of you as **Chimera** said, they’re going to give customers the feeling that they’re determined not to give them a decent value for their money. Subway is smart in that they weigh everything where customers won’t see it. Those stacks of little cardboard trays full of steak strips aren’t just to speed up preparation. And that;s just it. You go to Subway, they take out the pre-determined slice of meat and put it on. You go to Quiznos and they appear to be ensuring that they give you the absolute minimum amount of meat. That and from personal experience, it does appear to be a much smaller amount of meat on the sandwich than at other sub shops. Carefully measuring out small quantities and removing bits as small as a fraction of a gram + less meat than other places = “Fuck you, you cheap bastards, just put it on the damned sandwich.” ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/16 "2010-11-28T02:38:09Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I used to be a big fan of Quizno’s. Then their commercials turned me off, and I just never got around to going back. This is my opinion also. Their ads were nothing less than insulting, some of the stupidest I have ever seen. The oven talking to the dude making a sub, “stick it in me, scott” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/17 "2010-11-28T03:13:51Z")
Anecdotally, I’ve noticed their sub quality go way down over the years, and other places starting toasting their subs so there was nothing special about Quizno’s. Give me Publix subs (or a local deli) any day. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/18 "2010-11-28T03:18:15Z")
FWIW, my local Quizno’s has seemed just as good for the three or four years I’ve been going there. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/19 "2010-11-28T03:23:32Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > This is my opinion also. Their ads were nothing less than insulting, some of the stupidest I have ever seen. The oven talking to the dude making a sub, “stick it in me, scott” :rolleyes: No fan of the talking oven, but as a long time b3tard and unabashed admirer of Joel Veitch, by all rights I would have expected that Quiznos’ recognition of the sheer genius of the [Spongmonkeys](http://www.rathergood.com/moon_song) would cement Msr. Mudd’s lifelong brand loyalty. That ad said (to me, anyway,) “We know who you are and also appreciate the finer things in life, just as you do. We are a corporate entity that _gets_ you. _We have what you need._ You want to give us your money. Come home!” Unfortunately, they don’t offer a product I like at a price I can accept. Contrariwise, Tim Hortons’ ads insult my intelligence and usually offend my nationalist sensibilities - however, they make a great breakfast sandwich and make it available at a price that is attractive to me, so I eat one of those bad boys 5 days a week. Consequently, they can count on receiving ~$150/mo from me, while I might eat Quiznos twice a year, when I can’t avoid it. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116/20 "2010-11-28T03:36:24Z")
> [@ExcitedIdiot](#): > > Portion control is very important if you’re running a restaurant. If your portions are always +/- 20%, you can’t accurately set prices. You’ll also piss of your customers. They won’t see the time they get +20% ice cream as a bonus. They’ll see that as normal, and think they’re getting stiffed when they get the real “normal” amount. As far as Quiznos–I used to eat there occasionally, but haven’t been to one in maybe a year or more. There’s no particular reason for it that I can think of. It’s just not appealing enough I guess. Maybe others feel the same way. That’s there’s not really anything wrong, but there’s not really anything right either. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quiznos-sub-franchises-closing-whats-up/562116.md?page=2)