Subway Ditches Iconic $5 Footlong Deal

While you may have considered Subway's $5 footlong deal something you could depend on — like Starbucks always having coffee or the McDonald's ice cream machine being broken — depend no more. Subway is officially ending their $5 footlong deal this month. Instead, it will be up to each franchisee to decide whether a Subway location will sell the sandwich for that price.

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The decision came after hundreds of franchise owners wrote a letter to the brand, claiming that the deal's slim profit margins could bankrupt their locations. Trevor Haynes, the current CEO of Subway, revealed in an interview with USA Today that Subway would stop promoting the deal, and would leave the individual locations responsible for setting a price. "Affordable food is what we've always stood for," Haynes told the publication. "It's not just about one price point."

An opinion piece in Forbes hypothesizes that Subway franchises will thrive financially after ditching the $5 deal. "Considering high rent, escalating food cost and increasing mandatory labor costs in addition to royalties and advertising fees; the five dollar footlong sliced into those profits. Higher volume may have meant higher royalties for the franchisor, but more work and labor cost for the franchisee may have amounted to more trouble than it's worth." However, they predict that customers will need to find other reasons to keep dining at Subway besides the prices.

Luckily, the brand is rolling out a bunch of new sandwich flavors, testing out paninis, and planning to introduce new beverages include Watermelon Agua Fresca and Passion Fruit Agua Fresca. Mourning the loss of the $5 footlong deal? Mend your broken heart with 14 things you didn't know about Subway.