Subway Rolls Out an $80M Change

Deli meat will now be sliced fresh daily in most US locations
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 5, 2023 2:00 PM CDT
Subway Will Handle Its Meat Differently
A Subway sandwich on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022, in Indianapolis.   (Brian Ach/AP Images for Subway Restaurants)

Subway hasn't had the best week public relations-wise, but the sandwich giant is rolling out what CNN terms a "big change" to its deli meat. Starting Wednesday, some 20,000 of the chain's US restaurants will slice its ham, pepperoni, roast beef, salami, and turkey fresh in-store daily. For those who thought that was going on all along, it's actually a pretty big shift from the previous practice of slicing meat in Subway's factories and shipping it to stores. The slicing will happen in about 80% of stores using a $6,000 slicer that is set to be displayed prominently to highlight the move; NBC notes Subway purchased the slicers for its franchisees at a cost of around $80 million. Some items, including steak, rotisserie chicken, and cheese, will still be pre-sliced.

The chain is debuting four new sandwiches to highlight its fancy slicing and offering up to 1 million free 6-inch subs between 10am and noon on July 11. The move comes amid a time of change for Subway, which once ruled the quick-sandwich roost but has seen market loss to the likes of Firehouse Subs, Jimmy John's, and Jersey Mike's. Those competitors emphasize freshness and have seen their store numbers grow, as opposed to the 7,000 locations Subway has closed in recent years. Subway is currently exploring a sale of the business, with the president of its North American ops saying it is "on track" for an announcement later this month. (A court once ruled that Subway's bread didn't actually qualify as bread.)

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