Free Republic

.....The struggling sandwich chain has seen customer traffic plummet a whopping 25 percent over the past five years.... In a Nov. 30 memo to franchisees that revealed the stomach-churning drop, Subway’s owners promised $25 million to boost marketing this spring for the company’s 44,000 locations and to bring back a limited-time, $4.99 footlong sandwich promotion..... ....the crucial footlong deal — aimed squarely at the McDonald’s dollar menu — is in danger because of a revolt by franchise owners, who fret that doubling down on discounts will further shave their already thin profits. More than 400 of them have signed a...

The toasted sandwich company published a parody video, “Out of the Maze and into the Playa,” on YouTube earlier this week, a day after the weeklong utopian arts celebration in Northern Nevada’s Black Rock Desert concluded on Monday. The plot sends the characters of the “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials,” a not-so-well reviewed science fiction thriller to be released later this month, to Burning Man as a test of character. “Welcome to Burning Man. The world outside is hanging on by a very thin, non-GMO, cruelty-free, organic hemp thread. Beyond this tent flap lies the beginning of your new lives...

Steven Wilkerson spends long hours working alone at three restaurants in a Hess gas station in Tampa – a Dunkin’ Donuts, a Quiznos and a Godfathers Pizza – all for just $8.50 (U.S.) per hour. Three years ago he made just $7.50. The 28-year-old former U.S. Marine tried to find a role in communications, and later security, after his tour of duty in Iraq. He went to more than 30 interviews, but was told repeatedly that he didn’t have enough experience for jobs he wanted. “You know, everybody tells you when you’re in the military you’ll get any job you...

Quiznos has filed for bankruptcy protection, five days after the Sbarro pizza chain did the same. Executives at the restaurant chain, known for its toasted sandwiches, agreed to a restructuring plan that will reduce its debt by more than $400 million, the company said in a statement Friday. All but seven of Quizno's 2,100 restaurants in the United States and 30 other countries are independently owned franchises, and will remain open and operating as usual. Quiznos once had more than 5,000 stores and could have threatened rival Subway's hold on the sub market. But now, Subway has nearly 20 times...

Restaurant chains are dropping like flies this week. On Monday pizza franchise Sbarro dipped into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Following in its footsteps on Friday, sub shop Quiznos announced that it too would sink into bankruptcy as part of a “pre-packaged” deal to cut its debt by more than $400 million, or two-thirds.

Sandwich chain Quiznos is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection within weeks as it contends with declining sales and a lofty debt load, people familiar with the matter said. The company, which has about $570 million in debt, has been negotiating with creditors for weeks on a restructuring plan that would streamline its trip through bankruptcy court, these people said. A final deal on a so-called prepackaged restructuring plan hasn't yet been reached, they said.

It was 1 a.m., and I was sipping from the ever-full pitcher of That '70s Show, but then a commercial came on that by some bit of late-night laziness I didn't mute: "Scott, I want you to do something." "Not doing that again. Got burned." What!? My cultural gaydar -- infinitely more accurate than my personal one, and we won't go there -- started the beat beat beat of its tom-tom. Then as I watched, my socks, which were still on, got knocked off, and you will see why when you click on the ad above. Here's the spot's soft-porn...

Quiznos Throws Subway Curve With 'Sexy' $4 Foot-Long Sandwich Shop Looks to Gain 'Mojo' Back While Undercutting Rival Subway By Emily Bryson York Published: March 23, 2009 CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- The company that gave America a man sucking on a wolf teat is at it again. Seeking to return to its identity as an edgy upstart, Quiznos is undercutting rival Subway's $5 foot-long with a $4 version called the Toasty Torpedo, pitched as a product with "12 inches of flavor" by a smoky-voiced toaster that asks a chef to "Say it sexy" and "Put it in me." 'Put it in...

Its back again! Subway's 5 dollar footlong menu has expanded for a limited time to include every sandwich except the Subway Feast and Philly Cheesesteak. Just as the first one, sales of Subway sandwiches are expected to skyrocket. The reason is because in times like these when we can no longer afford what we would like to eat or do. With subway giving the oppertunity to purchase a footlong sanwich with choice of any toppings for only five dollars, (Plus tax. Unfortunately the left got us there as well.) is a golden oppertunity for poor families who must cope with...

The Quiznos sandwich chain said Tuesday it has adopted a new animal-welfare policy for the eggs, pork and turkey it buys. The Denver-based chain said it came up with the policy in conjunction with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "We are always trying to find new ways to be better corporate citizens, and we'll continue to seek those ways," Quiznos spokesman Joe Hodas said. Quiznos will buy more eggs from cage-free chickens, more pork raised in crate-free environments and more turkeys that are killed using a method that PETA described as more humane, in which the birds' oxygen...

~~~~snip~~~~ A male coyote really did wander into the Quiznos sandwich shop at Wabash and Adams -- in the Loop! -- just before 2 p.m. Tuesday. Workers had propped open the front door for the warm afternoon, and in sauntered the roughly 30-pound, 18-month-old wild animal. "He probably smelled our prime rib," observed Bina Patel, 23, the shop's manager...... ~~~~snip~~~~

TAMPA - Anyone watching local cable TV recently may have noticed a curious infomercial. A tall, handsome spokesman was trumpeting the rewards of owning a Quiznos Sub franchise. Be your own boss, the pitchman kept reiterating. Set your own schedule. Enjoy independence as a business owner. Denver-based Quiznos is following up its infomercial with a series of seminars at Tampa Bay area hotels this week, hoping to interest potential franchise owners. But behind the scenes, there is turmoil among some Quiznos franchisees here and across North America. According to a Tampa Tribune analysis, 80 percent of Quiznos restaurants in Hillsborough...

I just saw the new Quiznos subs commercials on the TV. What are those nuked rat looking thing things?! I've seen pics of them posted on FR before. Someone please explain to me what they are and why Quiznos is sporting them now. O_O;;; If you haven't seen the commercials, you can go to the the link above and see them. OMG.