Observe the beauty of that non-Subway sign

Some of my friends tell me my hatred of Subway sandwich shop borders on the obsessive and unhealthy. I counter this claim by saying it is no more unhealthy than eating a subway sandwich.

My hatred of Subway is threefold.

  • Their stores smell horrible. I can’t walk by one without gagging on that weird air they pump out of their “restaurants”.
  • The bogus health claims. Not only are their sandwiches filled with gross chemicals and just as calorie-laden as many other fast foods, but they market them as a healthy alternative. In one commercial they’ll tout their veggie sandwich and the next they’re putting Fritos on your sub. It’s disingenuous to claim you can “eat fresh” at their stores while also putting non-food-items like Fritos on your lunch.
  • The sheer numbers. According to their store locator (which might be of dubious accuracy) there are 224 Subway sandwich shops in the five boroughs of New York.

Fellow New Yorkers, you live in the deli capital of America, why would you choose to eat at a Subway? Why, in a city where you can get a cheap, delicious sandwich on almost every corner, did a new Subway open in the past couple weeks around the corner from my office? Why does that particular Subway advertise the fact that they’re open 24/7 and can cater events? These are questions I wish I didn’t have to answer. But thankfully, here in Greenpoint, it looks like the good people of North Brooklyn have shunned the smelly, subpar sandwich shop and caused the chain to shut it’s doors. The Subway on Manhattan Avenue is dead.

A tweet by the Greenpoint Gazette last week announced the closing of Subway to make room for a health food shop. It was my favorite tweet of all time. The closing of a chain restaurant to be replaced by a locally owned, healthy alternative? Together we can accomplish great things New York.

Actual healthy food?

The new shop replacing Subway is already open and called Greenpoint Sandwich. When I called and asked what happened to the previous tenant the person who answered said she didn’t know. But the turnover happened very quickly – one day Subway was open and the next a new sign hung outside.

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I couldn’t get many details about the new store and while it still looks disturbingly like a Subway, it advertises carrot juice and vegetarian sandwiches. Time will tell if it will catch on and what its niche will be, but I mostly wanted to congratulate you, fellow Greenpointers, for stopping the disturbing spread of the Subway sandwich shop one store at a time. If anyone has gotten anything to eat from the new place, please let me know!

Join the Conversation

2

  1. I share your hatred of fast food, but I also think you’re delusional if you truly think New yorkers can “get a cheap, delicious sandwich on almost every corner.” Really? Where? I’d love to see this huge list. On almost every corner is a corner deli selling Bore’s Head brand cold cuts. Is that your definition of healthy? I’m listening.

  2. I don’t think it was the good taste of the people of North Williamsburg that forced their doors to close, after all there’s a dunkin right across the street that manages to stay open. That particular Subway was just absolutely terrible. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were stripped of their franchise and opened this new place instead, which will end up being equally as terrible. It was filthy and shares a space with a shady burger shop. I went in there once and they did not have cold cuts (!?) and they only had a few loaves of stale white bread. Oh yeah, and their credit card machine was “broken.” Another time they informed me that they did not participate in the $5 footlong deal.

    Also I’m going to have to agree with Susan T, last time I went to a “corner deli” for a sandwich it definitely wasn’t cheap and honestly, it wasn’t very delicious either. Subway is generally a decent deal, this one was just really bad.

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