Not all sandwiches are created equal. There’s an even bigger chasm between high-quality sandwiches and mediocrity in the vast, and seemingly infinite, pantheon of ingredient combinations.
Unfortunately, for every excellent hot pastrami or killer Cubano, there’s a sad sandwich waiting to ravage your waistline or permanently put you off the wrap.
Of course, quality is everything. Simply put, when a restaurant is willing to invest time, energy, and money into prioritizing high-quality ingredients, it reaps significant benefits.
On the other hand, many sandwich-centric chains are unwilling to run their own farms. As a result, therebrands are notorious for skimping and cutting corners, and customers have taken notice.
From iffy (at best) tuna to strange mystery meat and disappearing chains, these sandwich brands have received the most food quality complaints.
1. Jimmy John’s
The sandwich chain competition is already fierce, but Jimmy John’s has fought back since 1983 by introducing low-cost subs and delivery services early on. But, unfortunately, the brand’s popularity has begun to dwindle due to quality complaints and inconsistencies in the locations where it has left.
Most customers criticize Jimmy John’s for using day-old, stale-tasting bread, cheap meats, and bottom-of-the-barrel veggies that aren’t fresh at all.
To stay afloat in this market, Jimmy John’s has raised sandwich prices, and fans aren’t willing to spend more when the brand lacks the quality they expect from a great Sammy.
2. Subway
Subway and complaints go together like peanut butter and jelly regarding frequently criticized sandwich chains. Despite its reputation as America’s most widespread and popular sandwich chain, this is a prime example of quantity over quality, as Subway is also the country’s most notorious sandwich shop. And if customers continue to abandon the brand, that popularity may be dwindling anyway.
It’s difficult to blame customers for seeking greener pastures, especially given how tarnished Subway’s public image has become in recent years. But, unfortunately, popularity can only take you so far when your name is practically synonymous with lawsuits and fake tuna.
Nowadays, it appears that Subway is constantly mired in a slew of complaints, whether from disgruntled customers who have lost a menu favorite, strange chicken that may or may not be real chicken or coupons that have become ineffective.
But if one sandwich has caused a tidal wave of food quality complaints, it’s the now-infamous tuna sandwich. Whatever the courts say about whether or not their tuna is real tuna, it’s a brand-damaging look, and customers are constantly slamming it for its, shall we say, subpar quality.
3. Arby’s
Arby’s is now known for its roast beef and the beef customers have with its food quality. For starters, the meaty sandwich chain is riddled with secrets, such as the fact that it isn’t antibiotic-free, that rumors say its beef isn’t all beef, and that the sauces are high in sugar.
The restaurant’s signature item, the roast beef is the source of the most complaints. According to one former employee, it’s not roast beef but a “compressed block of beef scraps” that comes in a bag with beef broth and must be re-warmed in the oven for a few hours. It is then placed on a slicer under a heat lamp for several hours. So it’s no surprise that this roast beef is among the most suspect among sandwich chains.
4. Quizno’s
Chastising a dwindling chain like Quizno’s feels like beating a dead horse, but there’s probably a good reason why this once-prolific chain has shrunk from thousands of storefronts to just a few in a matter of years.
Quizno’s has closed 94% of its restaurants in the last 15 years, and those staggering figures don’t lie. Customers are leaving the sandwich chain, not just because it’s unusually expensive or because some of its sandwiches are among the unhealthiest menu items.
5. Così
Cos is sinking faster than the Titanic when it comes to sandwich chains. The fast-casual chain’s former fleet of 127 locations has been reduced to just 27.
This is primarily due to issues with leadership, financial difficulties, and an inability to retain customers after the lunch rush. Still, food quality has also been a recurring issue for the company. Customer complaints range from a dirty environment and sloppy food preparation to a dirty environment and sloppy food preparation.
As if that weren’t enough, the chain has also been chastised for its shockingly unhealthy salads. Cos is a bankrupt chain on the verge of bankruptcy, and unless it commits to serious quality control, its days may be numbered.
6. Blimpie
Unfortunately, it’s been a long and tedious downward spiral for one of the original sandwich chains, as Blimpie has shrunk from 2,000 locations to barely 300. Sales have also been declining sharply.
According to customer reviews, quality appears to have declined in general. The chain was chastised for its lackluster food, tough meat, subpar ingredients and bread, skimpy portions and high prices.
7. Au Bon Pain
Au Bon Pain, like Sbarro and Orange Julius, is an endangered fast-food breed whose locations have shrunk with the demise of the all-American mall food court.
While the French-American bakery-café, known for its sandwiches, has been reopened, much remains to be said about Au Bon Pain. Unfortunately, this is one chain that has as many hits as misses, from its unhealthy coffee drinks to its overpriced sandwiches.
The fact is that Au Bon Pain cannot compete with its competitor Panera Bread regarding quality and number of locations.
8. Portillo’s
Portillo’s may be a beloved Chicago institution in the land of hot dogs, but the sandwich-slinging chain also has its detractors.
Every fan-favorite menu item, such as its hot dogs and chocolate cake, seems to have a customer complaint about everything from declining food quality and poor customer service to dry bread and simply bad-tasting food.
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