I’m a former Quiznos franchise owner and everything you said in this video is accurate. We were burdened with excessive fees, excessive food costs, constant pressure to upgrade the decor and unreasonable staffing expectations that drove our payroll thru the roof. I still love the food but the company was greedy and made enemies of their franchise owners.
exactly what my boss was always talking about.. looking back, i feel sad.. i didnt realize how bad it really was gonna be but we were really pushin the best we could. we were even in a really busy area. just scraping by..
Ok well the narrater of this upload seems to think the sponge monkeys were no big deal and weren’t costly to the company, 🤢 I disagree. But what did the franchise owners think of the sponge monkeys that dominated their commercials?
Still my favorite sandwich chain. Even better than most mom and pop deli stuff. The prices made it more of a special occasion thing. 7-8 dollars for a sub in 2005 was an investment.
This makes sense to me. I remember visiting a Quiznos and being asked to pay a fee to use a debit card and maybe some other up charges if my memory serves me. The owner was a surly man and I wondered how he intended to attract customers with this approach. With this insight, he was probably doing whatever he could to try to stay afloat. I always liked the food.
They needed to put actual signage as to what they sold. The one that was in my area in the late 90's to 00 only said Quiznos and there was absolutely no other signage as to what they sold.
I loved Quiznos, generally blew Subway's taste away while costing about the same. The new "secondary" sandwich franchise around here is now Potbelly. But they cost more than both Quiznos and Subway.
In 2004 there was a Quiznos in North Seattle that the franchise owners abandoned without warning the staff. The crew continued to run the shop by driving to other locations for bread, and using the daily earnings to buy meat, veggies and to pay employees. They would buy cases of Vanilla Coke (making it the only beverage) because it was cheap and being phased out. They did this for a month before corporate offices stepped in after being shamed by local media.
The legends say he is still spinning to this very day, none have solved his riddle, so no living soul has learned the location of this mythical Quiznos
I was a manager of a location in Lakewood, CO. My store was a franchisee training store and yes the people who bought franchises had no clue what they were doing, most of them had never even been in the food industry before. Fun fact: The reason subway got ovens was because coca-cola came in and told them if they switch from Pepsi to coke they’d put ovens in all their locations. Undercutting Quiznos like that pissed off the brand and that’s why you see Pepsi products, when before 2004 Quiznos had coke products.
We actually ate at your restaurant last summer sadly it was the last meal we had with one of m,y best friends he died a few weeks later but we remember going to your restaurant and having an amazing time.
In Canada, Quiznos has always had Coke. Subway originally had Pepsi, then went to Coke, like in the States, but they switched back to Pepsi in recent years.
As a former franchisee, I can attest to the fact that we closed the store simply due to the high food cost. Buying from the required food vendor was 2K to 3K a week on sales of 10K. After paying rent, 11% total in two different franchise fees, utilities and labor costs, we were losing money week after week. Eventually, it no longer makes sense to keep bailing out a sinking ship and it is time to save yourself.
@@wearethepeople7412 I have 40 years experience in the restaurant business. But not as a franchisee, no. Was it not clear that I was asking, not questioning your experience?
My mother was a Dialysis patient for over 20 years. In the early 2000's, a Quiznos opened up across the street from her Dialysis unit (Concord, Ca, off of Oak Grove Blvd.). I introduced her to the place and she fell in love with one of them 'toasted' sandwiches. She was at the unit 3 days a week, and after a 3 hour run of having her blood cleansed, she'd swing by the Quiznos and treat herself to a sandwich. There was some modification she appreciated and the staff knew exactly how to make it before she ordered. She passed in 2009, and so did most of the Quiznos after that. I thought her passing in large part lead to the decline of Quiznos... Sorry Quiznos, it was partially my mom's fault; however, you both had a lot of great years! If I can locate a Quiznos, I try to visit one on the anniversary of her passing. : )
@@ewolf132 Ha! Have at it Mr. Wolf. I Kid you knot, she passed July 5th. But, you can shoot for anywhere there about's. She had a great sense of humor. If you know Quiznos, you know my mother! Not many in Sacramento. I may have to substitute Quiznos for my favorite Chinese joint. Happy Fourth man! Cheers Mom!
the thing about those "toasted" subs is that they all tasted like they're thrown in a microwave, not actually toasted. Hell, I bring this up to Subway all the time, but nope, they refuse to admit their "ovens" are nothing more than fancy microwaves.
Mismanagement out the waazoo is the only thing that makes sense if you’ve ever had one of their subs. It wasn’t just the toasting - their sandwich types were creative, fresh, and just freaking delicious. It’s a shame when a legit great product is run into the ground through CEO greed and incompetence.
There's a reddit comment out there that more or less explained it like this: Quiznos' big thing was its toasted subs, which required this industrial toaster oven. Franchisees would buy this expensive piece of crap and pay it off after Quiznos was all nice and chummy with them setting up. Once the oven was almost or totally paid off, Quiznos would go Mr Hyde on the franchisees. All those little things they used to let slide? Hahaha fun times are over buddy, that's a ding. And because the franchisee likely got used to the relaxed way it was at first, it's major whiplash. They'd get enough infractions for Quiznos to cancel their franchising and buy their industrial toaster oven back for a fraction of the cost, now that it's "used".
I lived a few blocks from the first location at 13th and Grant when it shut down. I moved out of the neighborhood around that time and I thought that was it for the company, but apparently it was only being remodeled or something as I saw it was open not too long ago. Good sandwiches. Interestingly (or not), I now go to school right by the first Chipotle, which had shut down but reopened in 2017.
Ralph Mancini ... no it was a shift in direction. They got a new CEO and he tried to invade subways market. Tanked the product. Then they tried to force their franchisees to follow, who didn't want to because their customer base was drying up. Yeah then came the greed.
Nonsense. It was all bullshit from the get go. Designed to sell franchises and then sell shit to the franchisees. It made a lot of rich people a lot richer. lots of dummies buying restaurants thinking they can make money. The whole business model was to exploit fools. And it worked.
@@IYPITWL I remember back when Quiznos first opened in my area around the early 2000s, they had THE BEST bread!!!! Then somewhere along the line, they started using the same crappy bread as Subway, so I (and I assume many other people) stopped eating there. A good sandwich is all about the bread. They completely ruined it by getting rid of that good bread.
@MegaSkilla it's just not a field he was interested in and I don't blame him. It's like asking a doctor to open a Starbucks.... Not even remotely related fields.
I miss the local Quiznos. Their subs, being toasted, were certainly better than Subway's. And they had a chili-style soup at one time that was absolutely superb.
@shawdoKnights Whenever I did walk into a Quiznos, I never had to endure the weird type of odor that pervades every Subway I have ever patronized, one which carries over into the taste of their food. In fact, I can't think of any other type of food-serving place I've experienced that in, either, chain or no independent establishment. I don't know what additives Subway puts in their product, but present and accounted for in each one it is, unavoidable.
Quiznos was way better than Subway....I'm having flashbacks of that Black Angus steak..chicken carbona..Baja...they were awesome...this video made me realize I haven't seen a Quiznos or had one in years!!!!!
Oh yeah, the food was what drew me in to liking the chain. Black Angus was my favorite sandwich as well. However, there was a significant difference in quality between locations.
Funny. Everytime I ate at quiznos my sandwhich became really hard. So I stopped after 2 eats. My toasted subway sandwich white bread is soft to this day so idk what's going on.
@@BKHardScoper That is rich peoples sandwhich. Why they so expensive and have stupid sizes? they are all like 1/5th smaller than any other sandwhich places so if you want a small it's a little smaller than what you would get elsewhere forcing you to get a larger sandwhich you didn't want.
I remember back in 2000 a Quiznos opened up in my hometown and I started getting my lunchbreak sandwiches there. They were quite good, and I really enjoyed the food. However, less than half a year after it opened the shop closed and seemingly vanished. I think this video has done a great job explaining why that probably happened.
My local one was run by idiots. They moved to a new location flat was off the road and didn't have a sign out front. If you didn't know they were there you wouldn't be able to find them and it was in an inconvenient location too. There was cheap rental spaces nearby that wasn't a bad location and even putting our a sign would help massively. Store limped on for a couple years after that. I miss them though, they were way better than Subway and a similar price.
Same. Quiznos in my town opened around then and it’s was great. They had this bbq brisket sandwich that no one to this day could match. It was our favorite sandwich spot. But within 5 years it was gone. So sad because I haven’t seen a Quiznos since, and I travel all over the country for work
Quiznos had a small stay in Singapore. They managed to stay in the island for about 4-5 years before they disappeared in a whimper. If I remembered they came around 2009. Far East Organization, a real estate conglomerate, brought the franchise over here and they were slow in growth to begin with. They had 2 locations, one in Orchard Central, a new swanky mall that initially struggled to gain foot traffic, and at City Hall, the central business district. To say both struggled was an understatement. They didn't grow as fast as they did in the US, because they stuck to those 2 locations with little to no fanfare. They went bust altogether around 2014/2015 as Subway just kept growing, not to mention other smaller businesses that made sandwiches also made their mark. Now Subway is suffering a bit if a slump here, some major changes and their traffic is suffering with the amount of locations they have. But I will never forget Quiznos. I loved their sandwiches admittedly, even if they were a little out of the way and a little expensive.
me in high school: who reads the wall street journal? Who the hell cares about business if you're not involved? How boring! me now: this video about the decline of a once major sandwich chain is fascinating
I managed a couple stores in the years when the decline started and you nailed it. The distributor costs went insane and the food quality got worse. We started shopping at a local restaurant supply house for produce and such because the stuff we were getting from the approved supplier would show up rotten. When corporate noticed they fined the store owner. It was a no-win situation and very discouraging. I still miss those sandwiches though
Wow, that’s too bad. I remember moving around a lot, so maybe this is part of it, but I recall loving the sandwiches. Then, suddenly, it just seemed like the quality really wasn’t there. Maybe this was around 2008 or so? Long time ago. Cost wasn’t an issue for me at the time, I just remember not liking the food anymore and the restaurants just started to feel sorta dirty. I think consistency and management at the restaurant level started becoming an issue and I guess this must have been a big reason why.
I had an identical experience. We tried to keep the quality up with the produce, because the approved supplier just wasn’t cutting it. The store owner for the location I managed had really put a lot into it, and had really went all in, with hopes it would continue to do well. He was a really good guy, always took care of the employees. So when we started to see quality issues he found a different supplier, and once corporate caught wind, that stopped and our hands were tied. We were a location attached to a local grocery store chain, and for the few years I worked there we did really well. Once that quality started dropping, among some other things lacking on a corporate end, we saw a pretty steady decline in business. I really felt bad for the owner, cause I could move on and get another job, but this was what he was hoping would take him through the rest of his life. Really enjoyed my time working there, and miss my steady diet of sandwiches.
I worked for the food service company that supplied Quiznos in Canada. The problem lies within Quiznos itself, not the franchisees. The restaurants were forced to buy directly from the Quiznos corporation at an insane mark up. For instance... at the local grocery store a block of cheese could cost $10, made up number, but through the company that same block of cheese could be $25, they weren't allowed to find a cheaper alternative even though the product was the exact same. The price gouging was ridiculous. It is hard to keep your business profitable and you are forced to use inferior product because throwing it out means a substantial loss of money. Quite often I would bring lettuce that was less than fresh and turning brown. In almost all cases they have to keep and use this. It was things like that which caused the downfall of Quiznos. It certainly wasn't the taste because when Quiznos first came to Canada it was delicious and was head and shoulders above Subway Corporate greed is to blame
He forgot to mention the 5 Dollar footlong at Subway which was a big deal during the recession. This lead to Quiznos trying to compete with more affordable offerings at a cost of quality
I worked with a guy that loved Quiznos so went a lot. It was nothing special to me but I grew up with real Italian grinders in Western Mass. Any local pizza place blew it away in quality and price and they always offered hot grinder from the pizza oven. I even worked at an Italian pizza place one summer when I was young.
I worked at a Quiznos from about 2005-2009 and I can truthfully say this video is very accurate. I worked pretty closed with the majority owner and he didn't have previous experience and also told me he hated how much their suppliers charged. He did his best and eventually dropped the franchise agreement and made it into his own personal sub shop but unfortunately it eventually closed as well.
I loved Quiznos in the early 2000s but at some point they completely changed their ingredients. I know I'm not crazy the meat and everything else was different.
Same here. We had a fellow who had a franchise store with a takeout window here in Denver. He dropped Quiznos in 2006 and went with another new chain. That store stayed awhile until a light rail system construction closed his shop plus others. He moved the shop somewhere else, sold it to a Vietnamese family and just got out of business. That second store is not the same either.
My step dad owned a Quizno's between 2000-2005. Loved the food (specifically the Chicken Carbonara & broccoli cheese soup). The cost of maintaining and running that place was outrageous!
that's really sad to hear, especially since in my area, Quizno's normally didn't even operate their own stores - they rented out a back section of some local convenience store and had their kitchen, counter and a few tables there. That was the case at several local places - one was a gas station, another just a long time food/snacks/stuff store (that didn't even have gasoline).
There was definitely a consistency problem across franchisees. There were 4 Quiznos locations near my hometown, one of them was really good: quality sandwiches, clean decor, well staffed; the other three, not so much. One was so gross looking that I walked out without ordering and never went back. Sadly, the one good Quiznos closed circa 2007, as the owner couldn't afford to keep it running. It was going to be reopened under new ownership, but the recession killed that before it could happen. It's such a shame that the business self-destructed. Their sandwiches were far and above all of the other chain sandwich shops.
Those Quizno "spongemonkey" commercials seem like a fever dream to me! I'm so glad you have them here. No one ever knew what I was talking about when I said "those Quizno singing nuggets warning you about paper cuts"
I just learned that Howard Johnson used to be the largest restaurant chain and today has one remaining store. That would be a very interesting story! Love the channel great stuff.
I miss HoJo. They had great food and great ice cream. The Howard Johnson’s Hotel and restaurant where I lived was a dumb. But had great food. The hotel made it a dumb.
As I recall, Quiznos toasted their subs by running them on a rotating belt of sorts thru a type of broiler, not in an oven. They were quite good that way, I thought. Crisped the bread just right.
I likely had a bad one near me, and one memory that will stick with me forever is their poor overwhelmed undertrained teenager not keeping his eye on the ball, and 3-4 sandwiches hitting the end of the belt and going straight to the floor.
Yeah. It always amazes me that I see and hear so many people say things like 'Subway is just as good' or 'better'. There's a Quiznos in a town I pass through very infrequently about 3 hours from where I live. I stopped there again recently and I have to say it still blows others like Subway out of the water. Just never realized how good I had it when there used to be one in the city where I lived. 🙁
@@jrgon6189 after they started their decline i hadnt gone in years. I thought they weren't around tbh. But i recently startrd my first job out of college and theres a quiznos by my office. I saw it and decided to go for lunch because, well, i had no idea they even existed. And i gotta say, that Quiznos is way better than any subway ive ever been to. Sad the owners who bought the chain didn't seem to give a shit about it because the model certainly is something special
Smh. I'm sure some people have had bad experiences at Quiznos, as there have been at every food chain. Bad ingredients or people who don't know or care about their job often being the cause. That said, the quality of sandwich I've always gotten from Quiznos has been second to no other sandwich shop chain by a fairly large margin. *edit* At least from the ones I have tried.*
Always be suspect of any business model where the largest profits are "recruiting" more people into your "business" and selling to them instead of actually selling product to customers. That is the problem with pyramid schemes and the mathematical impossibility of giving success for everyone in it.
Quiznos was probably one of my favorite places to go get some food, so this was really neat to see what happened and where all the Quizno's went. Thank you!
I was sad when my local quiznos closed in STL. The hot sandwiches were delicious and the owner was sweet and classy. It became obvious she was exhausted and trying to control costs because (as far as i know) she was the only employee. Who would think a business could fail with fantastic customer service and a product everyone loves? I miss the chicken carbonara and black angus sandwiches!
yeah I shouldn't have clicked on this video because now I'm remembering how good their good was and am craving it so bad and it's im not going to satisfy this craving right now bc the closest one to me is an hour away 😭
Quite true, However in my opinion they were better tasting sandwiches. But that meant during my lunch break I need to determine if it was worth the extra cost for the better sandwich. Which for most days, I opted for the budget. However once every few weeks especially if work was bad, I would opt for Quiznos just because I needed something that tasted better.
Todd Fraser that was me. I would get Quiznos when I had the spare cash but in its hay day 2007/2008 I was a teenager fresh out of high school working a part time job on a really tight budget. Probably ate more little caesars $5 pizzas than I should ever admit. Haha.
Here in texas I was wondering what happened in fort worth metroplex...quiznos is actually my top 2 the other being schlotksys as my favorite...I don't reallly care for subway all that much and their wraps and pizza are good...I don't like tommy johns they not have white sub bread ...so I miss quiz a lot they are that much better and I hope they return and out perform subway soon..better model m...I love their salads the most ..thar Asian one....
I live in Colorado, and to see this happen real time was so sad... there was one literally within walking distance of my house when we bought it.... but within a year later it was converted into a Poke Bowl place (specifically for the reasons enumerated in the video). Now there are like 3 stores in all of Denver, but store #1 is still amazing for subs. All they need to do is get their act together, get a better business model, and their sandwich can NOT be beat, I would argue, because of the Italian flavors that they offered and the pepper bar was TOP NOTCH!
i went there one time in the early 2010s i think 2011 something like that it was incredible how delicious it was when i went there ! i wish there would still be open because of that disgusting fast food restaurent called subway urggh overpriced and not even filling anyway i miss them
I remember hearing that Quiznos sells the ingredients to their franchisees at a profit to them. That sucks because Quiznos was superior to Subway for the longest time. They could've blown up.
The price mark up is ridiculous and the franchisee are not allowed to find a cheaper solution even if the product is exactly the same. Shredded ice burg lettuce for example, made up numbers but show my point. At the local grocery store you can buy a bag for say $10 but the exact same lettuce from Quiznos they sell to the restaurants for $25. It's crazy and I don't know how they expect a restaurant to survive
@@MikeHart72 One of those videos where Company Man is probably too nice and Mormon in temperament, seems like conscious decision to steal as much money as possible and ruin sucker franchisees. And the thieves got away with running company into the ground, got theirs at the time so they don't care lol. Really no checks or balances, whatever "shareholders" of Quizno's represented at the time, they probably wanted Quizno's to exploit those franchisees. "WE MAKE MONEY"--Frank Reynolds.
I worked for Quiznos Subs from Feb 2010 - May 2015. I started as a crew member and was a GM by the end. I have worked at 7 locations, 2 of which I helped train crew and grand open, most of which I worked simultaneously, and 5 of which were the top-selling stores in their respective region. I never owned a location, but I heard many bad things about corporate from the franchisees, and If I’m being sincere, I wasn’t paid well myself. Anyway, I want to give credibility to everything Company Man has said in this video, and verify that everything he has said is spot on. Company Man, you don’t need to be nice about it, but I appreciate your being nice to avoid offending anyone. I, however, will be blunt and upfront about it. Here are some of the things I encountered while working for Quiznos. The food was great, and I still love it. However, the “supplies” were so highly-priced that one of the franchisees owned a different restaurant or franchise than Quiznos (I won’t say which franchise). Still, he would order his produce, drink syrups, and whatever else he could through the other franchise to save on cost. He would even go to Sam’s Club to buy bottled drinks for sale rather than purchase anything through Quiznos. Other franchise owners would go to grocery stores or bulk-buy stores like Smart & Final or Costco to get fresh produce, plates, cups, plastic utensils, napkins, toilet paper, you name it. As you can imagine, this put the franchisees in danger of corporate repercussions if caught, but they felt they had no choice. It was like the Franchisees and Corporate were constantly battling each other. You could cut the tension between the two with a knife. I watched three of the four locations in my hometown change ownership to a far less business-savvy person, only to close a few months or years later and open back up as something else. I witnessed one of the far less business-savvy owners use old slimy rotting bell peppers (Just got to cut around the rotted part), old mushrooms (Just got to cover them in oil and send them through the oven), or if we had an old day dot, AKA expiration date (Replace it with a new container and relabel). So basically, corporate greed and the franchisee’s desperate attempt to stay in business ultimately hurt the loyal customers. Over time, fewer customers from gross-tasting food meant older and older food being sold. At least, that was the case at a select few locations I can think of. When a franchisee closed their shop, they or their employees would sometimes take seating & tables, prep tables, and other items from the store that they couldn’t sell to other franchise owners after the close. I personally do not see Quiznos Subs ever making a comeback. Other superior sandwich franchise models have long caught on to the toasted sub-trend, and Quiznos isn’t unique anymore. Except for their commercial campaigns. For my final story, I attended a Quiznos corporate gathering of GMs, Owners, and corporate members. At the end of the meeting, the host commented that a new commercial was coming out, that it was brilliant, and involved the three blind mice. You can imagine my disappointment when the commercial came out.
Quiznos was a good alternative to Subway pre 2010. It was a bit more expensive but their ingredients were better and their sandwiches were overall higher quality. Since then though, as you said, the market has become extremely competitive and now you can find a number of very compelling options that offer better sandwiches, often for better prices. They seem to just have faded into obscurity among all the other popular restaurants.
@@tf2scoutpunch175 I haven't had Jimmy Johns in over a decade and I imagine they have a changed a bit but I just thought everything about Jimmy John's was boring and subpar, much like subway. I've never had a bad sub from Quiznos though.
Firehouse subs is where it is at! Just make sure to tell them "don't drain the meat" so the sub will be dripping with flavor and tastiness. I usually get the club on a sub with extra turkey.
I absolutely loved the chicken bacon sandwich at quiznos. I havent been in like 10 years though. There is one 30 minutes away from my house and thinking about going today 🤔
I think the cost of Quiznos is what hurt them. When Subway started doing their $5 footlongs campaign it really hurt Quiznos. Because at Quiznos you would end up paying over $25 for two subs when you can go to Subway by four Subs for the same price and you can feed your entire family. To me the cost was the downfall. There's a reason why McDonald's and Taco Bell are profitable is because they sell affordable food. In the end price is always what it comes down to.
I worked at Quiznos from 2004-2006, during their peak. Our location was extremely busy 7 days a week. Still, the franchise owner ended up closing it a couple years later, citing an inability to turn a profit.
I have to correct one point. The main thing Quiznos had over Subway wasn't the toasting, it was having food that tasted good. Wish Subway would have copied this part as well.
I miss Quiznos. LOVED their subs! Reckless, uncontrolled expansion at the expense of Quality/Integrity. Kind of like cancer. Throw in Irrational Corporate Greed, and this GREAT Sandwich Maker was doomed :(
I immediately thought of a Ponzi or MLM scam as he was explaining how so much of their revenue came from both franchisees and those area managers. Setting up multiple layers of palms that need to get greased stops being lucrative as soon as you run out of suckers willing to buy into your plan. And 5000 restaurants? Eventually they start cannibalizing each others' sales. Anyone with half a brain and a bit of business sense probably bailed on these guys as soon as they started expanding exponentially.
Not quite a Ponzi - just blatant fraud I don't know how the fuck they ever thought that was going to work. I mean, hell, when you own the distributor AND control the franchise rights, you already have a significant advantage in margins over every single competitor just by selling bulk products from the distributor at industry standard prices
When I was 17 I worked at Quiznos. I really liked the food. After I had moved on to a new job, I went in one day for a sub with my friends. They had a $5 foot long deal poster out in front of the door. When I tried to order it, they told me they're not honoring the $5 foot long deal. I asked about the sign out front and they explained that "corporate" made them put it out there but that they weren't honoring it... We were pissed and I never went back after that day.
Subway still does this. Many locations have advertisements that the franchisee won't honor, won't accept coupons, etc. But they have to have the signs up.
There used to be one in Charlotte airport. Sadly, it is now gone. I used to look forward to connections there. There was another one in the Galleria mall in Manila (Philippines). I went there in February and found that one gone also.
They had two in Seoul (that I am aware of). The one that I went to most often eventually closed. Probably 8 to 10 years ago. The other one (which I discovered many years later) was a Quiznos in name only. They had all the branding (signage, bags, wrappings), but had a completely improvised menu. The owner once told me that there was no longer support for her, so she made a menu that would sell.
the one in itaewon became a cold stone eventually, i think. (maybe it was the other way around?) the korean place below it outlasted both by the time i left in 2015.
@@darwinwins It changed businesses a few times. At one point it was a makeup shop (Olive Young, I think). But I haven't been there in a while. The one in Apgujeong (not too far from the STN), was still branded a store, inside and out, but it's menu was just a little bit of everything.
My experience with Quiznos was more about my experience with my local Quiznos owner. Dude was hella chill and I’d take my girlfriend on dates there. Eventually he learned our names and we became regulars. When we broke up he’d talk about how we were his favorite and how he loved seeing us together. Dude knew my order and I’d just walk in and sit down and he’d make it and I’d pay him. Got to the point where he even gave me a tab and I’d pick up a sandwich for lunch and pay him after school. Love quiznos.
Your videos are great. Informative videos about company downfall, putting it in simple enough terms for people with no real knowledge of economy or sales to understand, AND being interesting throughout? Floored. Seriously, great work man, keep up the good work!
There was a Quiznos I used to always go to during my meal break at my old job and one day it just randomly closed down, now I finally know the reason why. I loved Quiznos and yeah Subway also toasts their subs, but it pales in comparison and the subs are either not toasted enough or are kept in for too long, they are never toasted to perfection like at Quiznos.
Man... I know man. Those subs were toasted to perfection. To this day I can't find anyone close. So mad when they suddenly skipped town... Trump.20.20.com #FREEQUIZNOS
My dad would always take me to one by our city hall as a kid. I don't remember what the sandwhich was, just had teriyaki chicken, cheese, and I think even bacon. All toased. Was the best sandwhich I ever had. Subway was okay, but your right they pale in comparison. Then one day they just closed down. I was devasted. Even though that one by our city hall was always packed. Sigh...
I had also heard that corporate forced the locations to sell so many specials and coupon deals that they could not make money. I for one, seldom ate inside the restaurant, I usually bought one or two (and generally always ordered one of the promotional subs) and took them home of to the office. So they never made money on a lot of us for things like sides, sodas, chips. But they always had to offer those deals...and I was always looking for that special. My guess is the shop never made a lot of money if all people would buy was the reduced costs or sale subs.
I loved Quiznos and went there weekly. Until ownership changed, quality nose dived and I stopped going once my local shop closed. The commentary nailed it when mentioning unfit people taking over locations. That happened to the shop I frequented. There was an immediate drop in standards so I went less and less. I saw the shop had a new management sign, got a good sammy and then forgot about the place. When I saw the business was gone I just never went to any Quiznos again.
I remember that too. Back when Quiznos first opened in my area around the early 2000s, they had THE BEST bread!!!! Then somewhere along the line, they started using the same crappy bread as Subway, so I (and I assume many other people) stopped eating there. A good sandwich is all about the bread. They completely ruined it by getting rid of that good bread.
I remember reading about Quiznos on Wikipedia a long time ago. Turns out their treatment of franchisees was so severe that one guy straight up killed himself. Horrible way to run a company and I'm glad it's gone. Or just about, at least.
@@korbendallas7181 I don't doubt that when someone commits suicide it is usually for a multitude of reasons. But I'm sure their stranglehold on him didn't help and I think they are very much to blame for why he did it.
I KNOW RIGHT> Remember when they served them actually toasted w/ toasted meat and the bread was good and cut diagonally? That was fucking AMAZING. THen they changed to liek Subway style bread and the meat just went to shit and uggh . BLimpie is the best Now. Support you're local BLimpie. Fuck Subway garbage
The only time I ever had a Quiznos sandwich was in 2002 and I got so sick from it, I swore that I would never go back again. I was shivering and threw up for 2 days, and could barely eat anything for nearly a week. It was the worst I ever got sick and I never forgot. But looking at this video, I can understand now why it happened, the old quantity over quality play and I was one of the idiot customers that paid the price.
Darklurkr lol I managed a Quiznos for 6 years it’s the same for the most part with variations. I still love them and considering I have managed a Subway for the last 4 years I have to disagree with you.
Great analysis, and very interesting! Yes, when Quiznos was new, I thought their subs were far better than any other chain, but you're absolutely right that their initial point of differentiation ("toasted") was far too easy to replicate. I have a neighbor who opened a Quiznos franchise, and talk about timing: it was 2008, and iirc, he and his wife had the place open for only a year or so. (Fortunately, he found other, better work, and his family seems to be doing well now.) Keep up the good work with your excellent videos!
I ate there once and I liked the food more than I did at Subway lol which is kinda why I miss Quiznos and barely go to Subway anymore despite several being around me.
@@irkiIIer "only dumb hipsters like peppers!" get fucked man, peppers are amazing. You're probably just too pussy to eat anything hotter than bbq sauce
I used to order Quiznos from a location near my house two or so times a week. After the online ordering made it so I had to do a $75+ order I stopped. It was really weird getting a call a week or two later from the franchise owner asking if something happened.
At least the owner sounds like a decent person to call and check up. Assuming the minimum online order was a corporate policy instead of a franchise decision?
In my town the Blockbuster was right next to the Quiznos. The Blockbuster is a Sprint store now and the Quiznos is a Smoothie King which closed a few months ago.
They lost me as a customer when they changed their recipe. I would buy the Baja chicken almost daily. I was disappointed when they stopped using cilantro (e Coli issue at the time) but then they went and changed the entire flavor. I Loved that sandwich and would pay a dumb amount if they still made it the way they originally did. Don’t mess with recipes. Easiest way to lose customers.
I can't tell if Quiznos being good was all in my head, because I was addicted to them in the 00s, I ate there almost every day. A year or 2 ago I went to the last remaining one we have, after not being for a decade, and it was disgusting. Your comment made me feel less crazy. I'm going to believe there were recipe changes while I was on break from them!
Olive Garden did that with the Tripple Chocolate Strata they had years ago (and what they changed was if it was on their menu..), best dessert I ever had; I haven't been back since..
I felt the same when they changed the Black Angus into the Rosemary. Still good but not the same. Then i guess they got the name thing settled and called it the Black Angus once again. Sucks the state of Georgia only has 2 left, both just a few miles apart from each other in Atlanta. Whenever I’m in the city I’ve made it a thing to get me a Black Angus, always savoring it and wondering if it’ll be the last time.
Just like how some restaurants decide to take their most popular item off the menu. I dont get why they would do that??? Chilis just got rid of their southwestern spring roles, like WTF??
Quiznos made the mistake of trying to compete with Subway on price, instead of quality. Quiznos was delicious at first. Then Subway came out with the $5 Footlong. Quiznos seemed to respond by revamping the menu to lower price but also ingredient quality. They got rid of my favorite sub! Tuscan Turkey, I think? It had a wonderful red pepper sauce. New menu had no equivalent. That's when I stopped going. Chain sub shops have become a race to the bottom...
Same here, my favourite was the prime rib with peppercorn. One day I walk in and get one and it has literally a fraction of the meat on it, I couldn't believe they thought they could get away with such a drastic decline in quality. I didn't set foot in a Quisno's for like a decade after that.
Your absolutely right about Subways, they are so generic. We used to have a Sub Station II here in town, they were pretty good, but all three of them gradually close down. Quiznos in my opinion was a decent place.
I loved Quizno's, but unfortunately their prices began to skyrocket and locations had begun to close. I live in a city of 500K people, and there's only 2 locations here. Contrast that with 41 Subway's, about a dozen Jimmy Johns, and 5 Jersey Mikes. After having watched this, I can definitely see why they declined.
The closest one to me is in a kind of baffling location: part of a truck stop a few miles outside Hammond, Louisiana, a town of about 20,000. I call it baffling because just an hour away to the west is the much bigger Baton Rouge, where all of the Quiznos locations have closed. I'm guessing the Hammond location gets a good chunk of its traffic from truckers and commuters off I-10.
I always like Quiznos. The subs were tasty and the restaurants looked nicer than those at Subway. That said, I heard a long time ago how horrible the corporation was to their franchisees, basically strangling them for extra money. They treated the franchisees like revenue streams instead of business partners and in the end they ended up killing the goose that lays the golden egg. That and I think they accured a TON of debt trying to expand so fast and got caught with their dick out during the debt crisis.
Mimiko S i went there once. To expensive and the sandwich was about half the weight of a subway sandwich.Perhaps that was only at that particular franchise.
@@TheAngelOfTheBottomlessPit I don't go to either. I went to Q once and thought it was crazy overpriced. I have a Subway a block from my place and I pass it everyday. The only time I ever went there was to meet a girl who never showed up and who, I found out the next day, had her car impounded on her way to meet me.
My sister worked there as a college student and the franchise owner was probably the same age as her and was very inexperienced in the food/restaurant industry. Management was so horrible that my sisters checks would bounce and the owner had to pay them later out of the register. She finally quit when she tried to go to a check cashing place to finally try to get paid on time and the check cashing place looked at the check and said we specifically dont take checks from Quiznos due them bouncing. I can't remember if she ever got the money for her paycheck...
The town I lived in the Quiznos never opened. There was a sign that said "Quiznos Opening Soon". It was there for years until it finally just disappeared one day
@M Detlef So you think Americans can't cook because people like certain restaurants? I'm assuming you have restaurants you like, unless your country is too poor to have any? If you want to pick on Americans then at least say something about lack of Metric system, overweight people, or even the crap we watch on television. Apparently you are too stupid to even be a proper bigot.... Please tell us your Country so that I can teach you good insults DUMBASS!!!!
@ty: I agree. The Q near me closed years ago. I loved their grilled sandwiches and they were tons better than Subway and Tubbies. I love grilled Italian sandwiches none exist near me in Metro Detroit.
they opened up a new quiznos near my house not to long ago, but chose the WORST location for it. its in a strip mall thats mainly offices, behind a Safeway, and in between the Quiznos and the main street are about 5 other fast food places with another 6 jsut down the road, plus theres ready made meals, a deli, and take out in the Safeway. It's not even visible from the road. They went under after a few months and now the nearest quiznos is about 30 miles from here
@@arthas640 the only place I've ever seen them where I live is in strip malls, but I'm from a county with a high population, so they can afford to put them in those locations because they're high traffic areas. But I've only ever seen 2...
Yeah, there was a Quiznos by my work that was disgusting. It always looked like a train wreck. Old, crusty, dried up soup was caked all over the warming equipment. At first I thought it as just because they were to busy to clean. But then, I realized that they just weren't even bothering to clean it.
That not the case with the two remaining where I live. The owners/managers are always there, very clean and good service. I think the only way they can make it now is if the owner also manages the store.
The medium sized city I live in had a Quiznos at one time, it may have closed like 10 years ago but I loved it, literally the best subs I’ve ever had. One day I got such a craving I drove out of town to a location just to get one. Nowadays there’s like 5 Subway franchises and still no Quiznos, which always perplexed me since there has never been anything quality about Subway from the service to the ingredients always have been subpar, yet it continues to grow and expand. I guess even a great business model can’t outlive a poorly run business !
I used to work at a Quiznos. It was awful. The franchisee was a cable installation guy and he let his wife run it. She always acted like she didnt care about anything. One day we got new "security cameras", a few days after that we got robbed, but the cameras "weren't working". Felt very suspicious. That is the type of people they allowed to run their shops
That kind of story is so familiar. I worked as a security guard at a cemetery while I was an art student. One day a car was parked on one of the 16 miles of roads inside the front gate. I opened the car and searched the glove box and found the owner's card. It was an insurance salesman. I told him where his car was and he acted as if he didn't care. Later that evening as I was doing rounds, I noticed it was on fire. Of course I called 911 and the fire department and police came and then I called the owner again and told him what had happened. He reacted exactly the same as previously. I waited for him and he simply collected his tool box from the trunk and left. Nothing odd there, right?
Quiznos was always higher quality meat than Subway, but when the recession hit, people cared a lot more about a $5 foot long than a $10 foot long. I miss their sandwiches though.
I was an assistant manager at my local Quiznos when I was just coming out of high school. I loved the sandwiches and toasting them was very unique. I was able to make some crazy awesome combo sandwiches that of course were not on the menu so good times. Of course I moved on with life and a few years later the location disappeared. They are still around, in my case it's about a 40 min drive to the closest one currently. Definitely would be cool if they could revamp and come back.
Just discovered your channel today. As someone who works in the restaurant business who is interested in the industry as a whole, I find your videos pretty informative! Good work
It was the quality of the food that I really noticed as the years passed. They used to be really good, last time I was in one the food was not eatable, it was awful, never went back.
this happened because the franchisees were forced to use products that were "illegal" under the Quizznos agreement. The "legal" stuff was too expensive. My boss did this too. Had to cut on product, the product was not as good but only way to make a "profit" if he even did.
I’m a former Quiznos franchise owner and everything you said in this video is accurate. We were burdened with excessive fees, excessive food costs, constant pressure to upgrade the decor and unreasonable staffing expectations that drove our payroll thru the roof. I still love the food but the company was greedy and made enemies of their franchise owners.
exactly what my boss was always talking about.. looking back, i feel sad.. i didnt realize how bad it really was gonna be but we were really pushin the best we could. we were even in a really busy area. just scraping by..
Ok well the narrater of this upload seems to think the sponge monkeys were no big deal and weren’t costly to the company, 🤢 I disagree. But what did the franchise owners think of the sponge monkeys that dominated their commercials?
Still my favorite sandwich chain. Even better than most mom and pop deli stuff. The prices made it more of a special occasion thing. 7-8 dollars for a sub in 2005 was an investment.
Also, I worked at a Blockbuster video right next door to one. Two great places not long for the world.
This makes sense to me. I remember visiting a Quiznos and being asked to pay a fee to use a debit card and maybe some other up charges if my memory serves me. The owner was a surly man and I wondered how he intended to attract customers with this approach. With this insight, he was probably doing whatever he could to try to stay afloat. I always liked the food.
They need a new tag line. Something catchy like, "Quiznos. 100% flavor. 0% Jared."
As Jared's cell mate, I get a piece of Jared every night
@@MyBigRed Was he Toasted??
@@kimsleep4111 no, but he definitely eats fresh
Lol
They needed to put actual signage as to what they sold. The one that was in my area in the late 90's to 00 only said Quiznos and there was absolutely no other signage as to what they sold.
I’m glad to hear it was due to poor management. I had thought that America just preferred Subway over Quiznos. That idea bothered me.
Subway is doing really bad too recently, just last year they closed over 1000 stores. I have a video about subway if you're interested.
Hari's Hobbies Thanks homey. That was actually pertinent information for me know.
I loved Quiznos, generally blew Subway's taste away while costing about the same. The new "secondary" sandwich franchise around here is now Potbelly. But they cost more than both Quiznos and Subway.
@@ccricers Worth it, though. Quiznos always tasted better but there was only ever one in my area and like five Subways - most of which were closer.
I like Potbelly & Jimmy Johns. I love the hot peppers that Potbelly has. I could eat the whole jar if I knew my gut wouldn't be paying for it later.
In 2004 there was a Quiznos in North Seattle that the franchise owners abandoned without warning the staff. The crew continued to run the shop by driving to other locations for bread, and using the daily earnings to buy meat, veggies and to pay employees. They would buy cases of Vanilla Coke (making it the only beverage) because it was cheap and being phased out. They did this for a month before corporate offices stepped in after being shamed by local media.
Link to this?
@@onlyplaysveigar7241 look up (Manager who never quit sees Quiznos store shut)
@@jonm1437 I found it. Thanks. Very informative.
Those were some damn dedicated employees
Sheesh.
I hope they all got good jobs
mad respect for those employees because i would not have done the same 🥴
Well, it's all because that guy who spins the sign around too fast. I still don't know which way the Quiznos is...
DANG IT! I was just about to comment this!!
*Overly enthusiastic*Quiznos there, Quiznos there, Quiznos everywhere! Mmmm... Quiznos!
The legends say he is still spinning to this very day, none have solved his riddle, so no living soul has learned the location of this mythical Quiznos
@@dspivey_music I was the 420th like and I am very proud.
This is why they declined we didn’t need an eleven minute video
I was a manager of a location in Lakewood, CO. My store was a franchisee training store and yes the people who bought franchises had no clue what they were doing, most of them had never even been in the food industry before.
Fun fact:
The reason subway got ovens was because coca-cola came in and told them if they switch from Pepsi to coke they’d put ovens in all their locations. Undercutting Quiznos like that pissed off the brand and that’s why you see Pepsi products, when before 2004 Quiznos had coke products.
Thank you for that additional info buddy
I think most franchisees of most companies have no clue what they are doing.
We actually ate at your restaurant last summer sadly it was the last meal we had with one of m,y best friends he died a few weeks later but we remember going to your restaurant and having an amazing time.
Interesting... I really liked Quisnos, I remember always ordering the "Chicken Cabonara" sub with extra bbq sauce and jalapenos 👌
In Canada, Quiznos has always had Coke. Subway originally had Pepsi, then went to Coke, like in the States, but they switched back to Pepsi in recent years.
I actually miss the hell out of Quiznos.
Nice to see you on other sides of TH-cam.
Joe! Love your podcast.
Faxs
Joe Scott : Me too
Surprised to see you on this love both of your contents
The fact that so many people love their food, and miss it a lot, really highlights how hard they failed
As a former franchisee, I can attest to the fact that we closed the store simply due to the high food cost. Buying from the required food vendor was 2K to 3K a week on sales of 10K. After paying rent, 11% total in two different franchise fees, utilities and labor costs, we were losing money week after week. Eventually, it no longer makes sense to keep bailing out a sinking ship and it is time to save yourself.
30% food cost sounds about right. In a restaurant anyway. Is it different for fast food?
Unless supplying you cheap food is part of the franchise agreement. Then it's the franchise fee that's killing you.
@@imtrex521 Were you ever a franchisee. If not, then you do not have first hand information, just opinion.
@@wearethepeople7412 I have 40 years experience in the restaurant business. But not as a franchisee, no. Was it not clear that I was asking, not questioning your experience?
If you can make a go of it at 25 to 30% food cost then you got no business owning a restaurant
My mother was a Dialysis patient for over 20 years. In the early 2000's, a Quiznos opened up across the street from her Dialysis unit (Concord, Ca, off of Oak Grove Blvd.). I introduced her to the place and she fell in love with one of them 'toasted' sandwiches. She was at the unit 3 days a week, and after a 3 hour run of having her blood cleansed, she'd swing by the Quiznos and treat herself to a sandwich. There was some modification she appreciated and the staff knew exactly how to make it before she ordered. She passed in 2009, and so did most of the Quiznos after that. I thought her passing in large part lead to the decline of Quiznos... Sorry Quiznos, it was partially my mom's fault; however, you both had a lot of great years!
If I can locate a Quiznos, I try to visit one on the anniversary of her passing. : )
duhg McDuhgal sorry for your loss sounds like she was a good woman
What's the date of her passing? I have one near me and I'll pay tribute to your mom as well if you're okay with it
@@ewolf132 Ha! Have at it Mr. Wolf. I Kid you knot, she passed July 5th. But, you can shoot for anywhere there about's. She had a great sense of humor. If you know Quiznos, you know my mother! Not many in Sacramento. I may have to substitute Quiznos for my favorite Chinese joint. Happy Fourth man! Cheers Mom!
@@Knuck_Knucks I'll be dining at Quiznos July 5th then. Happy fourth to you too!
Really sad
As a customer I think 2 thing kept you out of the restaurant:
1. High prices
2. Every other sub place started offering toasted subs.
Jimmy johns doesn’t and they charge for water which is dumb I’d rather have Quiznos
When will sub chains learn? No one wants an expensive sub. It's just one of those commodities that doesn't motivate people to pay for them.
Quiznos tasted 50x better than the rest of the sub restaurants though
I agree.
the thing about those "toasted" subs is that they all tasted like they're thrown in a microwave, not actually toasted. Hell, I bring this up to Subway all the time, but nope, they refuse to admit their "ovens" are nothing more than fancy microwaves.
Mismanagement out the waazoo is the only thing that makes sense if you’ve ever had one of their subs. It wasn’t just the toasting - their sandwich types were creative, fresh, and just freaking delicious. It’s a shame when a legit great product is run into the ground through CEO greed and incompetence.
There's a reddit comment out there that more or less explained it like this: Quiznos' big thing was its toasted subs, which required this industrial toaster oven. Franchisees would buy this expensive piece of crap and pay it off after Quiznos was all nice and chummy with them setting up.
Once the oven was almost or totally paid off, Quiznos would go Mr Hyde on the franchisees. All those little things they used to let slide? Hahaha fun times are over buddy, that's a ding. And because the franchisee likely got used to the relaxed way it was at first, it's major whiplash. They'd get enough infractions for Quiznos to cancel their franchising and buy their industrial toaster oven back for a fraction of the cost, now that it's "used".
I literally thought that Quiznos didn't exist anymore
2 still in my city. I get down!
I lived a few blocks from the first location at 13th and Grant when it shut down. I moved out of the neighborhood around that time and I thought that was it for the company, but apparently it was only being remodeled or something as I saw it was open not too long ago. Good sandwiches.
Interestingly (or not), I now go to school right by the first Chipotle, which had shut down but reopened in 2017.
There’s one 10 minutes away from my house
There's one in my area and it's at an Airport
I grew up in Seattle with them all over the place. Live down the street from one today.
The one word that best describes what caused Quiznos' downfall is greed. They had a quality product and allowed it to self-destruct.
Ralph Mancini ... no it was a shift in direction. They got a new CEO and he tried to invade subways market. Tanked the product. Then they tried to force their franchisees to follow, who didn't want to because their customer base was drying up.
Yeah then came the greed.
Nonsense. It was all bullshit from the get go. Designed to sell franchises and then sell shit to the franchisees. It made a lot of rich people a lot richer.
lots of dummies buying restaurants thinking they can make money. The whole business model was to exploit fools. And it worked.
Dude rich people getting richer is the definition of capitalism
@@IYPITWL I remember back when Quiznos first opened in my area around the early 2000s, they had THE BEST bread!!!! Then somewhere along the line, they started using the same crappy bread as Subway, so I (and I assume many other people) stopped eating there. A good sandwich is all about the bread. They completely ruined it by getting rid of that good bread.
The owner of the one in my hometown raped and murders someone so that didn’t help either
They even sent my dad a letter to ask about franchising...
My dad is a mechanic.......
That's cool
Amusement Labs didn’t expect to see you here lol
Amusement Labs xd
@MegaSkilla it's just not a field he was interested in and I don't blame him. It's like asking a doctor to open a Starbucks.... Not even remotely related fields.
@@AmusementLabs yes these fields are just too far away from each as possible 😂😂
I miss the local Quiznos. Their subs, being toasted, were certainly better than Subway's. And they had a chili-style soup at one time that was absolutely superb.
Yes, Quizno's was a million times better than Subway
IYO, I hate toasted subs.
@@kateallen7675 Well, to each their own. A matter of choice. Mine just happened to be Quiznos over Subway, if I had to make one.
@shawdoKnights Whenever I did walk into a Quiznos, I never had to endure the weird type of odor that pervades every Subway I have ever patronized, one which carries over into the taste of their food. In fact, I can't think of any other type of food-serving place I've experienced that in, either, chain or no independent establishment. I don't know what additives Subway puts in their product, but present and accounted for in each one it is, unavoidable.
I miss the chili definitely.
Quiznos was way better than Subway....I'm having flashbacks of that Black Angus steak..chicken carbona..Baja...they were awesome...this video made me realize I haven't seen a Quiznos or had one in years!!!!!
You must have had a good one then. Our Quizno's was total garbage.
Oh yeah, the food was what drew me in to liking the chain. Black Angus was my favorite sandwich as well. However, there was a significant difference in quality between locations.
Everything is better than subway
david2869 I just want the clam chowder recipe, also!
I really liked their french dipping with my Black Angus steak.
Quiznos: "We toasted our subs!"
Subway: "Well we just bought a toaster"
Quiznos: (INTENSE SWEATING)
Subway had bread made from Yoga Mats. Not really much competition there lol
Sheetz and Wawa make the best subs.
I would gladly take a Quiznos over a Subway. Quiznos made good sandwiches. I like the Torpedoes.
chicken carbonara FTW!!!!
@@Elazul2k No, they didn't lol.
I LOVED Quiznos. Other sub places put their subs in that terrible quick toaster which just makes the bread hard. The toaster at Quiznos was legit.
One word.
Jersey Mikes.
@@BKHardScoper counting is hard huh
@@mat12112 a little
Funny. Everytime I ate at quiznos my sandwhich became really hard.
So I stopped after 2 eats. My toasted subway sandwich white bread is soft to this day so idk what's going on.
@@BKHardScoper That is rich peoples sandwhich. Why they so expensive and have stupid sizes? they are all like 1/5th smaller than any other sandwhich places so if you want a small it's a little smaller than what you would get elsewhere forcing you to get a larger sandwhich you didn't want.
I remember back in 2000 a Quiznos opened up in my hometown and I started getting my lunchbreak sandwiches there. They were quite good, and I really enjoyed the food. However, less than half a year after it opened the shop closed and seemingly vanished. I think this video has done a great job explaining why that probably happened.
My local one was run by idiots. They moved to a new location flat was off the road and didn't have a sign out front. If you didn't know they were there you wouldn't be able to find them and it was in an inconvenient location too. There was cheap rental spaces nearby that wasn't a bad location and even putting our a sign would help massively. Store limped on for a couple years after that. I miss them though, they were way better than Subway and a similar price.
Same. Quiznos in my town opened around then and it’s was great. They had this bbq brisket sandwich that no one to this day could match. It was our favorite sandwich spot. But within 5 years it was gone. So sad because I haven’t seen a Quiznos since, and I travel all over the country for work
Quiznos had a small stay in Singapore. They managed to stay in the island for about 4-5 years before they disappeared in a whimper. If I remembered they came around 2009. Far East Organization, a real estate conglomerate, brought the franchise over here and they were slow in growth to begin with. They had 2 locations, one in Orchard Central, a new swanky mall that initially struggled to gain foot traffic, and at City Hall, the central business district. To say both struggled was an understatement. They didn't grow as fast as they did in the US, because they stuck to those 2 locations with little to no fanfare. They went bust altogether around 2014/2015 as Subway just kept growing, not to mention other smaller businesses that made sandwiches also made their mark.
Now Subway is suffering a bit if a slump here, some major changes and their traffic is suffering with the amount of locations they have. But I will never forget Quiznos. I loved their sandwiches admittedly, even if they were a little out of the way and a little expensive.
At least Quiznos didn't have Jared.
As I do when I take off my hat, you make a good point !
Wait which Jarred?
ProJared? Otherwise known as Bruhjared?
@Benjamin Burkhardt Still better than molesting their children.
The Adventure Mazda i hope it’s not projared
me in high school: who reads the wall street journal? Who the hell cares about business if you're not involved? How boring!
me now: this video about the decline of a once major sandwich chain is fascinating
haha omg so true
This is scary accurate
this is me rn. lol.
I managed a couple stores in the years when the decline started and you nailed it. The distributor costs went insane and the food quality got worse. We started shopping at a local restaurant supply house for produce and such because the stuff we were getting from the approved supplier would show up rotten. When corporate noticed they fined the store owner. It was a no-win situation and very discouraging. I still miss those sandwiches though
Wow, that’s too bad. I remember moving around a lot, so maybe this is part of it, but I recall loving the sandwiches. Then, suddenly, it just seemed like the quality really wasn’t there. Maybe this was around 2008 or so? Long time ago. Cost wasn’t an issue for me at the time, I just remember not liking the food anymore and the restaurants just started to feel sorta dirty. I think consistency and management at the restaurant level started becoming an issue and I guess this must have been a big reason why.
I had an identical experience. We tried to keep the quality up with the produce, because the approved supplier just wasn’t cutting it. The store owner for the location I managed had really put a lot into it, and had really went all in, with hopes it would continue to do well. He was a really good guy, always took care of the employees. So when we started to see quality issues he found a different supplier, and once corporate caught wind, that stopped and our hands were tied. We were a location attached to a local grocery store chain, and for the few years I worked there we did really well. Once that quality started dropping, among some other things lacking on a corporate end, we saw a pretty steady decline in business. I really felt bad for the owner, cause I could move on and get another job, but this was what he was hoping would take him through the rest of his life. Really enjoyed my time working there, and miss my steady diet of sandwiches.
This and the other comments sound familiar. I remember quality going down.
Far too many greedy morons end up in the highest positions in business. Common sense is a rare commodity in modern business.
I worked for the food service company that supplied Quiznos in Canada. The problem lies within Quiznos itself, not the franchisees. The restaurants were forced to buy directly from the Quiznos corporation at an insane mark up. For instance... at the local grocery store a block of cheese could cost $10, made up number, but through the company that same block of cheese could be $25, they weren't allowed to find a cheaper alternative even though the product was the exact same. The price gouging was ridiculous. It is hard to keep your business profitable and you are forced to use inferior product because throwing it out means a substantial loss of money.
Quite often I would bring lettuce that was less than fresh and turning brown. In almost all cases they have to keep and use this. It was things like that which caused the downfall of Quiznos. It certainly wasn't the taste because when Quiznos first came to Canada it was delicious and was head and shoulders above Subway
Corporate greed is to blame
He forgot to mention the 5 Dollar footlong at Subway which was a big deal during the recession. This lead to Quiznos trying to compete with more affordable offerings at a cost of quality
I worked with a guy that loved Quiznos so went a lot. It was nothing special to me but I grew up with real Italian grinders in Western Mass. Any local pizza place blew it away in quality and price and they always offered hot grinder from the pizza oven. I even worked at an Italian pizza place one summer when I was young.
Yes, deli 🥪 is not really hard but Orlando FL 2000-2020 has seen a few open, close.
I worked at a Quiznos from about 2005-2009 and I can truthfully say this video is very accurate.
I worked pretty closed with the majority owner and he didn't have previous experience and also told me he hated how much their suppliers charged.
He did his best and eventually dropped the franchise agreement and made it into his own personal sub shop but unfortunately it eventually closed as well.
Aw that's to bad, I wish his personal sub shop could've been successful.
@@kaibaCorpHQ that would of been a big F you to Quiznos
Similar story here the difference being that the ownership changed from relatively competent owner to the owners couldn't even speak English.
I loved Quiznos in the early 2000s but at some point they completely changed their ingredients. I know I'm not crazy the meat and everything else was different.
Same here. We had a fellow who had a franchise store with a takeout window here in Denver. He dropped Quiznos in 2006 and went with another new chain. That store stayed awhile until a light rail system construction closed his shop plus others. He moved the shop somewhere else, sold it to a Vietnamese family and just got out of business. That second store is not the same either.
My step dad owned a Quizno's between 2000-2005. Loved the food (specifically the Chicken Carbonara & broccoli cheese soup). The cost of maintaining and running that place was outrageous!
Ä88j6
L9
Q
How much did it cost him?
that's really sad to hear, especially since in my area, Quizno's normally didn't even operate their own stores - they rented out a back section of some local convenience store and had their kitchen, counter and a few tables there. That was the case at several local places - one was a gas station, another just a long time food/snacks/stuff store (that didn't even have gasoline).
I was in high-school around that time and loved eating Quiznos afterwards. After I graduated I just stopped going.
I had forgotten about the broccoli cheese soup ---- that stuff was the best!!!
I loved Quiznos, all the stores around here have been closed for several years, so havn't had it in ages.
🤢🤮
There is one in Canada in DIX30
Dunn north Carolina
Loved? That's a pretty strong word. If you loved it so much why weren't you at the funeral? jk
This guy is dragging this out. Get to the point.
There was definitely a consistency problem across franchisees. There were 4 Quiznos locations near my hometown, one of them was really good: quality sandwiches, clean decor, well staffed; the other three, not so much. One was so gross looking that I walked out without ordering and never went back. Sadly, the one good Quiznos closed circa 2007, as the owner couldn't afford to keep it running. It was going to be reopened under new ownership, but the recession killed that before it could happen. It's such a shame that the business self-destructed. Their sandwiches were far and above all of the other chain sandwich shops.
You hit that on the head. Plus there was more. I was a manager of one from 2004 to 2006 when we had to close. Quiznos corp was our worse enemy.
It always felt like they over expanded and let their quality drop.
Those Quizno "spongemonkey" commercials seem like a fever dream to me! I'm so glad you have them here. No one ever knew what I was talking about when I said "those Quizno singing nuggets warning you about paper cuts"
We love dee suuuubs!!! They gotta a pepper BAAAARRRR!!!
I just learned that Howard Johnson used to be the largest restaurant chain and today has one remaining store. That would be a very interesting story! Love the channel great stuff.
Hotels?
@@jimmyjay689 they used to have restaurants my sister use to work at one them
The HoJo empire was mafia run. Once the Italian mob took over they started folding nationwide. They got looted.
I miss HoJo. They had great food and great ice cream. The Howard Johnson’s Hotel and restaurant where I lived was a dumb. But had great food. The hotel made it a dumb.
@@Northstar813 great milk shakes
As I recall, Quiznos toasted their subs by running them on a rotating belt of sorts thru a type of broiler, not in an oven. They were quite good that way, I thought. Crisped the bread just right.
Worked briefly at a Quizno’s as a teenager, and there was definitely a machine with a sandwich-toasting conveyor belt like you describe.
I likely had a bad one near me, and one memory that will stick with me forever is their poor overwhelmed undertrained teenager not keeping his eye on the ball, and 3-4 sandwiches hitting the end of the belt and going straight to the floor.
That conveyor belt toaster was quite the spectacle.
Try potbelly they have the same thing and still in business
@@Lestergreen77 Been to PB a few times, just not for quite a while now. Their locations are more 'out-of-the-way' for me. Maybe again sometime soon.
Quiznos at their peak was the best sandwich maker.
Yeah. It always amazes me that I see and hear so many people say things like 'Subway is just as good' or 'better'.
There's a Quiznos in a town I pass through very infrequently about 3 hours from where I live. I stopped there again recently and I have to say it still blows others like Subway out of the water.
Just never realized how good I had it when there used to be one in the city where I lived. 🙁
@@jrgon6189 after they started their decline i hadnt gone in years. I thought they weren't around tbh. But i recently startrd my first job out of college and theres a quiznos by my office. I saw it and decided to go for lunch because, well, i had no idea they even existed. And i gotta say, that Quiznos is way better than any subway ive ever been to. Sad the owners who bought the chain didn't seem to give a shit about it because the model certainly is something special
I have never gotten a good sub from Quiznos. Are you high?
Low standards. But hey, people pay to have other people urinate into their mouths too.
Smh.
I'm sure some people have had bad experiences at Quiznos, as there have been at every food chain. Bad ingredients or people who don't know or care about their job often being the cause. That said, the quality of sandwich I've always gotten from Quiznos has been second to no other sandwich shop chain by a fairly large margin.
*edit* At least from the ones I have tried.*
Ah, so the problem was greed. Quiznos exploited their franchisees through inflated distribution fees.
Always be suspect of any business model where the largest profits are "recruiting" more people into your "business" and selling to them instead of actually selling product to customers.
That is the problem with pyramid schemes and the mathematical impossibility of giving success for everyone in it.
@@remyllebeau77 very true
I was dude, let them source their own napkins. They don't need you logo printed on. Mcdonald's doesn't print their name on napkins. 🙄
Quiznos was probably one of my favorite places to go get some food, so this was really neat to see what happened and where all the Quizno's went. Thank you!
weird, it was my favorite place to take a dump :thinking:
I was sad when my local quiznos closed in STL. The hot sandwiches were delicious and the owner was sweet and classy. It became obvious she was exhausted and trying to control costs because (as far as i know) she was the only employee. Who would think a business could fail with fantastic customer service and a product everyone loves? I miss the chicken carbonara and black angus sandwiches!
yeah I shouldn't have clicked on this video because now I'm remembering how good their good was and am craving it so bad and it's im not going to satisfy this craving right now bc the closest one to me is an hour away 😭
3:15 "...to two men named Rick Schaden."
*Whoa, clones!*
"They were a father-and-son team."
*Darn, what a disappointment.*
Lmao
Rick Sanchez
Lolfs
It's a shame, their sandwiches were far superior to Subway
Scott Forster - indeed. Subways gross. 🤮
Try Jersey mikes
Yeah as an ex subway employee subway is trash I wouldnt even feed it to my dog
@Cosmo! the fact that we take left over meat and fix it with new meat is one
Dylan Dhaliwal The reason “Sun Chips”
Is still in business.
Quiznos was too expensive especially during the $5 foot long era at subway.
Quite true, However in my opinion they were better tasting sandwiches. But that meant during my lunch break I need to determine if it was worth the extra cost for the better sandwich. Which for most days, I opted for the budget. However once every few weeks especially if work was bad, I would opt for Quiznos just because I needed something that tasted better.
Todd Fraser that was me. I would get Quiznos when I had the spare cash but in its hay day 2007/2008 I was a teenager fresh out of high school working a part time job on a really tight budget. Probably ate more little caesars $5 pizzas than I should ever admit. Haha.
Here in texas I was wondering what happened in fort worth metroplex...quiznos is actually my top 2 the other being schlotksys as my favorite...I don't reallly care for subway all that much and their wraps and pizza are good...I don't like tommy johns they not have white sub bread ...so I miss quiz a lot they are that much better and I hope they return and out perform subway soon..better model m...I love their salads the most ..thar Asian one....
Hey mom I’m just doing the same as you do the job
I agree but Quiznos tasted so much and fresher.
I live in Colorado, and to see this happen real time was so sad... there was one literally within walking distance of my house when we bought it.... but within a year later it was converted into a Poke Bowl place (specifically for the reasons enumerated in the video). Now there are like 3 stores in all of Denver, but store #1 is still amazing for subs. All they need to do is get their act together, get a better business model, and their sandwich can NOT be beat, I would argue, because of the Italian flavors that they offered and the pepper bar was TOP NOTCH!
Quiznos was my spot! Their sandwiches were sooo delicious. Perfectly toasted bread with quality ingredients. Miss them so much.
Man they were good. I would get my sandwich with some Doritos and sweet tea. Gawd da**..
@@Chris-iq5pr Damn.
I second this
i went there one time in the early 2010s i think 2011 something like that it was incredible how delicious it was when i went there ! i wish there would still be open because of that disgusting fast food restaurent called subway urggh overpriced and not even filling anyway i miss them
I was lucky enough to study near one a couple of years ago and it would be my weekly go-to the time I was there. Subway can hold the L in my book.
I'm glad you specified the Rick Schadens were father and son or my mind would have been blown
My mind was THIS close from blowing for a second there! I mean it's not like they were father and son named Chris Palmer or something.
I remember hearing that Quiznos sells the ingredients to their franchisees at a profit to them. That sucks because Quiznos was superior to Subway for the longest time. They could've blown up.
The price mark up is ridiculous and the franchisee are not allowed to find a cheaper solution even if the product is exactly the same. Shredded ice burg lettuce for example, made up numbers but show my point. At the local grocery store you can buy a bag for say $10 but the exact same lettuce from Quiznos they sell to the restaurants for $25.
It's crazy and I don't know how they expect a restaurant to survive
@@MikeHart72 One of those videos where Company Man is probably too nice and Mormon in temperament, seems like conscious decision to steal as much money as possible and ruin sucker franchisees. And the thieves got away with running company into the ground, got theirs at the time so they don't care lol. Really no checks or balances, whatever "shareholders" of Quizno's represented at the time, they probably wanted Quizno's to exploit those franchisees. "WE MAKE MONEY"--Frank Reynolds.
Michael garcia? You live in Washington?
Subway is just so meh. But obviously they are doing something very right with their business model.
@@vinaymulukutla358 they were good many years ago
I worked for Quiznos Subs from Feb 2010 - May 2015. I started as a crew member and was a GM by the end. I have worked at 7 locations, 2 of which I helped train crew and grand open, most of which I worked simultaneously, and 5 of which were the top-selling stores in their respective region. I never owned a location, but I heard many bad things about corporate from the franchisees, and If I’m being sincere, I wasn’t paid well myself. Anyway, I want to give credibility to everything Company Man has said in this video, and verify that everything he has said is spot on. Company Man, you don’t need to be nice about it, but I appreciate your being nice to avoid offending anyone. I, however, will be blunt and upfront about it. Here are some of the things I encountered while working for Quiznos. The food was great, and I still love it. However, the “supplies” were so highly-priced that one of the franchisees owned a different restaurant or franchise than Quiznos (I won’t say which franchise). Still, he would order his produce, drink syrups, and whatever else he could through the other franchise to save on cost. He would even go to Sam’s Club to buy bottled drinks for sale rather than purchase anything through Quiznos. Other franchise owners would go to grocery stores or bulk-buy stores like Smart & Final or Costco to get fresh produce, plates, cups, plastic utensils, napkins, toilet paper, you name it. As you can imagine, this put the franchisees in danger of corporate repercussions if caught, but they felt they had no choice. It was like the Franchisees and Corporate were constantly battling each other. You could cut the tension between the two with a knife. I watched three of the four locations in my hometown change ownership to a far less business-savvy person, only to close a few months or years later and open back up as something else. I witnessed one of the far less business-savvy owners use old slimy rotting bell peppers (Just got to cut around the rotted part), old mushrooms (Just got to cover them in oil and send them through the oven), or if we had an old day dot, AKA expiration date (Replace it with a new container and relabel). So basically, corporate greed and the franchisee’s desperate attempt to stay in business ultimately hurt the loyal customers. Over time, fewer customers from gross-tasting food meant older and older food being sold. At least, that was the case at a select few locations I can think of. When a franchisee closed their shop, they or their employees would sometimes take seating & tables, prep tables, and other items from the store that they couldn’t sell to other franchise owners after the close. I personally do not see Quiznos Subs ever making a comeback. Other superior sandwich franchise models have long caught on to the toasted sub-trend, and Quiznos isn’t unique anymore. Except for their commercial campaigns. For my final story, I attended a Quiznos corporate gathering of GMs, Owners, and corporate members. At the end of the meeting, the host commented that a new commercial was coming out, that it was brilliant, and involved the three blind mice. You can imagine my disappointment when the commercial came out.
Early 2000s Quiznos it still my favorite fast food of all time. I miss it. Black Angus Steak
That commercial was... 🤌
Quiznos was a good alternative to Subway pre 2010. It was a bit more expensive but their ingredients were better and their sandwiches were overall higher quality. Since then though, as you said, the market has become extremely competitive and now you can find a number of very compelling options that offer better sandwiches, often for better prices. They seem to just have faded into obscurity among all the other popular restaurants.
Jimmy John's are good but will leave you in the bathroom for hours.
@@tf2scoutpunch175 really why lol
@@tf2scoutpunch175 I haven't had Jimmy Johns in over a decade and I imagine they have a changed a bit but I just thought everything about Jimmy John's was boring and subpar, much like subway. I've never had a bad sub from Quiznos though.
Firehouse subs is where it is at! Just make sure to tell them "don't drain the meat" so the sub will be dripping with flavor and tastiness. I usually get the club on a sub with extra turkey.
if u think it was more expensive then u didnt try the two for $5 deal...
I loved Quiznos. Every store within 50 miles of my house, closed. I haven't actually seen a Quiznos store in several years, now that i think about it.
Same...
DJVIIIMan I thought they were all gone but there’s actually one pretty close with a good rating.
Same thing.
I’ve never seen a Quiznos.
There's one in my town. But most days it's closed. Then it will randomly be open one or two days a week
I loved Quiznos and I liked them better than Subway. I wish they got as popular as Subway.
yeah since subway is getting way more expensive. i totally prefer quiznos.
Quiznos is 🗑 only ate there once hated it, but to each their own.
Subway's $5 footlong for national stores and their $4.99 Meal Deal for local stores destroyed Quiznos.
I absolutely loved the chicken bacon sandwich at quiznos. I havent been in like 10 years though. There is one 30 minutes away from my house and thinking about going today 🤔
Same, Subway is awful and their advertising sucks!
I think the cost of Quiznos is what hurt them. When Subway started doing their $5 footlongs campaign it really hurt Quiznos. Because at Quiznos you would end up paying over $25 for two subs when you can go to Subway by four Subs for the same price and you can feed your entire family. To me the cost was the downfall. There's a reason why McDonald's and Taco Bell are profitable is because they sell affordable food. In the end price is always what it comes down to.
I don't know where you live, but here in Reno, McDonald's and Taco Bells prices have gone through the roof the last few years.
@@ryanventer9221 yeah all the prices have gone up everywhere.
@@ryanventer9221 first time hearing about inflation?
@@lucasesquivel2525 first time hearing about context? My comment was in response to him saying McDonald's and Taco Bell are cheap.
The cost is directly related to the problems illustrated in the video that corporate Quizno's imposed on franchisees.
This channel is a gem on TH-cam. Informative, great voice. The homework shows. Well done!
MICHAEL MILLER ... ^^ What HE said. Couldn’t’ve said it better. 👍
I worked at Quiznos from 2004-2006, during their peak. Our location was extremely busy 7 days a week. Still, the franchise owner ended up closing it a couple years later, citing an inability to turn a profit.
quality costs
That’s when you know the people at the top are to blame, not the management and employees.
@@domjfante8140 Bingo Dom
What happened to Quiznos?
They ran their business poorly.
quit-nos outta that crappy franchize
Which sucks imo since I always found Quiznos to be tastier and generally about the same price as Subway.
I have to correct one point. The main thing Quiznos had over Subway wasn't the toasting, it was having food that tasted good. Wish Subway would have copied this part as well.
Quiznos was one of those places where every bite you take from their food youre like "damn this some good sh*t" 😂
I miss Quiznos. LOVED their subs!
Reckless, uncontrolled expansion at the expense of Quality/Integrity. Kind of like cancer.
Throw in Irrational Corporate Greed, and this GREAT Sandwich Maker was doomed :(
As a recent purchaser of a franchise, this is an insightful video and gives me things to look out for in the future. Great vid!
Brew805 Good luck!
@@eyeheartsushi2212 Thanks!
It sounds like a 2 tiered Ponzi-scheme.
Another good restaurant that was miss-managed. They have all closed by me... and I miss them.
I immediately thought of a Ponzi or MLM scam as he was explaining how so much of their revenue came from both franchisees and those area managers. Setting up multiple layers of palms that need to get greased stops being lucrative as soon as you run out of suckers willing to buy into your plan. And 5000 restaurants? Eventually they start cannibalizing each others' sales. Anyone with half a brain and a bit of business sense probably bailed on these guys as soon as they started expanding exponentially.
Not quite a Ponzi - just blatant fraud
I don't know how the fuck they ever thought that was going to work. I mean, hell, when you own the distributor AND control the franchise rights, you already have a significant advantage in margins over every single competitor just by selling bulk products from the distributor at industry standard prices
They're process of making money sounds exactly like what Subway does.
@@Raskolnikov70 There's only a little over 3,000 counties in the US so yeah that's a lot of sub shops.
When I was 17 I worked at Quiznos. I really liked the food. After I had moved on to a new job, I went in one day for a sub with my friends. They had a $5 foot long deal poster out in front of the door. When I tried to order it, they told me they're not honoring the $5 foot long deal. I asked about the sign out front and they explained that "corporate" made them put it out there but that they weren't honoring it... We were pissed and I never went back after that day.
Subway still does this. Many locations have advertisements that the franchisee won't honor, won't accept coupons, etc. But they have to have the signs up.
You weren't half as pissed as that owner.
The 2007 peak sounds about right cause that's when I remember Quiznos and I, along with many friends, preferred it over Subway
That seems to be when the quality dipped too.
I prefer firehouse subs over all them
Firehouse is King right now, but man do I miss Quizno's wine vinaigrette dressing.
Matthew Verhage facts
awesome review still haven't tried unfortunately
I've only had Quiznos once in my life and it was at an airport. It was a very memorable sandwich.
They were really good. I miss the one near me....
Archosaurus - That means something!
There used to be one in Charlotte airport. Sadly, it is now gone. I used to look forward to connections there.
There was another one in the Galleria mall in Manila (Philippines). I went there in February and found that one gone also.
Same for me but it was free samples at a gas station and for some reason now that I think of it they weren’t toasted. Still good tho.
I think there was one in Denver
I loved Quiznos as a kid. I still remember liking their subs over Subway. Unfortunately all the Quiznos in my area are closed down.
I know I miss that memory of getting free playdough
Shit I use to eat Quiznos back in Virginia since 2006, and watch Nicktoons Network
They had two in Seoul (that I am aware of). The one that I went to most often eventually closed. Probably 8 to 10 years ago. The other one (which I discovered many years later) was a Quiznos in name only. They had all the branding (signage, bags, wrappings), but had a completely improvised menu. The owner once told me that there was no longer support for her, so she made a menu that would sell.
the one in itaewon became a cold stone eventually, i think. (maybe it was the other way around?) the korean place below it outlasted both by the time i left in 2015.
@@darwinwins It changed businesses a few times. At one point it was a makeup shop (Olive Young, I think). But I haven't been there in a while. The one in Apgujeong (not too far from the STN), was still branded a store, inside and out, but it's menu was just a little bit of everything.
My experience with Quiznos was more about my experience with my local Quiznos owner. Dude was hella chill and I’d take my girlfriend on dates there. Eventually he learned our names and we became regulars. When we broke up he’d talk about how we were his favorite and how he loved seeing us together.
Dude knew my order and I’d just walk in and sit down and he’d make it and I’d pay him. Got to the point where he even gave me a tab and I’d pick up a sandwich for lunch and pay him after school. Love quiznos.
Wow that quiznos owner sounds like such a chill dude.
@@ronaldmcdonald5292 u taken notes there, Ronald?
The owner had his eyes on ya girl!😎
Why did you break up? She didn't like the secret sauce the manager added?
@@tdestroyer4780 lmaooooo nah, just teens moving on
Your videos are great. Informative videos about company downfall, putting it in simple enough terms for people with no real knowledge of economy or sales to understand, AND being interesting throughout? Floored. Seriously, great work man, keep up the good work!
There was a Quiznos I used to always go to during my meal break at my old job and one day it just randomly closed down, now I finally know the reason why. I loved Quiznos and yeah Subway also toasts their subs, but it pales in comparison and the subs are either not toasted enough or are kept in for too long, they are never toasted to perfection like at Quiznos.
Man... I know man. Those subs were toasted to perfection. To this day I can't find anyone close. So mad when they suddenly skipped town...
Trump.20.20.com
#FREEQUIZNOS
My dad would always take me to one by our city hall as a kid. I don't remember what the sandwhich was, just had teriyaki chicken, cheese, and I think even bacon. All toased. Was the best sandwhich I ever had. Subway was okay, but your right they pale in comparison. Then one day they just closed down. I was devasted. Even though that one by our city hall was always packed. Sigh...
TonyVS I think it's either how subway works, or the fact that subway hasn't done it for that long.
@@michaeljackson6107 I ain't clicking on that link.
@@LessGo7921
Same here I never click on unknown links.
I had also heard that corporate forced the locations to sell so many specials and coupon deals that they could not make money. I for one, seldom ate inside the restaurant, I usually bought one or two (and generally always ordered one of the promotional subs) and took them home of to the office. So they never made money on a lot of us for things like sides, sodas, chips. But they always had to offer those deals...and I was always looking for that special. My guess is the shop never made a lot of money if all people would buy was the reduced costs or sale subs.
I loved Quiznos and went there weekly. Until ownership changed, quality nose dived and I stopped going once my local shop closed.
The commentary nailed it when mentioning unfit people taking over locations. That happened to the shop I frequented. There was an immediate drop in standards so I went less and less. I saw the shop had a new management sign, got a good sammy and then forgot about the place. When I saw the business was gone I just never went to any Quiznos again.
I remember that too. Back when Quiznos first opened in my area around the early 2000s, they had THE BEST bread!!!! Then somewhere along the line, they started using the same crappy bread as Subway, so I (and I assume many other people) stopped eating there. A good sandwich is all about the bread. They completely ruined it by getting rid of that good bread.
I had the same deal with my local Hardee’s
I remember reading about Quiznos on Wikipedia a long time ago. Turns out their treatment of franchisees was so severe that one guy straight up killed himself. Horrible way to run a company and I'm glad it's gone. Or just about, at least.
Seems like I recall some really shady dealings going on w some investors at the top. Too bad...they make great sandwiches.
@@jamestepera3356 Yes... Delicious sandwiches. Made with toasted bread and sacrificed human lives.
All because of Quiznos..... nah, he had issues outside of that. Im glad we still have two in my city!
@@korbendallas7181 I don't doubt that when someone commits suicide it is usually for a multitude of reasons. But I'm sure their stranglehold on him didn't help and I think they are very much to blame for why he did it.
Wow I didn't know. I just know they had shitty managers at the one I worked at.
It’s unfortunate. They had really good subs at first. Then quality and rarity declined quickly
I KNOW RIGHT> Remember when they served them actually toasted w/ toasted meat and the bread was good and cut diagonally? That was fucking AMAZING.
THen they changed to liek Subway style bread and the meat just went to shit and uggh .
BLimpie is the best Now. Support you're local BLimpie. Fuck Subway garbage
Bo Ho same! I think I have been listening to conspiracy theory channels a little too much lately
The only time I ever had a Quiznos sandwich was in 2002 and I got so sick from it, I swore that I would never go back again. I was shivering and threw up for 2 days, and could barely eat anything for nearly a week. It was the worst I ever got sick and I never forgot. But looking at this video, I can understand now why it happened, the old quantity over quality play and I was one of the idiot customers that paid the price.
I got serious food poisoning from a turkey sandwich there. After that, I was just done. I don't think they were keeping the meat at the right temp
Darklurkr lol I managed a Quiznos for 6 years it’s the same for the most part with variations. I still love them and considering I have managed a Subway for the last 4 years I have to disagree with you.
Great analysis, and very interesting! Yes, when Quiznos was new, I thought their subs were far better than any other chain, but you're absolutely right that their initial point of differentiation ("toasted") was far too easy to replicate. I have a neighbor who opened a Quiznos franchise, and talk about timing: it was 2008, and iirc, he and his wife had the place open for only a year or so. (Fortunately, he found other, better work, and his family seems to be doing well now.) Keep up the good work with your excellent videos!
I forgot that Quiznos even existed, haven't eaten there since 2007. 😂
I've never eaten there period. I've always went to Subway, and other, more local places for my subs.
*WE LOVE THE SUBS!!!*
*THEY GOT A PEPPER BAR!!!*
Ate there once and got food poisoning.
I ate there once and I liked the food more than I did at Subway lol which is kinda why I miss Quiznos and barely go to Subway anymore despite several being around me.
Replace eaten with *ate
I genuinely miss Quiznos. They were absolutely amazing.
How could this have happened?
THEY HAD A PEPPER BAR!
youre a fuckin hipster dumbshit
@@irkiIIer "only dumb hipsters like peppers!" get fucked man, peppers are amazing. You're probably just too pussy to eat anything hotter than bbq sauce
How could it have happened? Bain capital, Mitt Romney's firm..that is how it happened
RIP Quiznos.
We loved your subs...and your pepper bar.
@@GreatMewtwo Bar? Will there be ladies there?
I used to order Quiznos from a location near my house two or so times a week. After the online ordering made it so I had to do a $75+ order I stopped. It was really weird getting a call a week or two later from the franchise owner asking if something happened.
At least the owner sounds like a decent person to call and check up. Assuming the minimum online order was a corporate policy instead of a franchise decision?
In my town the Blockbuster was right next to the Quiznos. The Blockbuster is a Sprint store now and the Quiznos is a Smoothie King which closed a few months ago.
haha the irony even store that replaced Quiznos went under i guess that isn't a good spot
I still have a Blockbuster! So you know where I live.
We still have Family Videos. So you know where I live.
@@User31129 No, I don't.
@@wutzg.owenon5869 if u live in bend, hello from eugene oregon!
I always preferred Quiznos over subway! Chicken carbonara is my pick when I can find a Quiznos!
Chicken Carbinara was the shit
Carbinara was the shit
Yup
Way expensive for a small sandwich
Classic club with crumbled bacon and no cheese 😋
They lost me as a customer when they changed their recipe.
I would buy the Baja chicken almost daily. I was disappointed when they stopped using cilantro (e Coli issue at the time) but then they went and changed the entire flavor.
I Loved that sandwich and would pay a dumb amount if they still made it the way they originally did.
Don’t mess with recipes. Easiest way to lose customers.
I can't tell if Quiznos being good was all in my head, because I was addicted to them in the 00s, I ate there almost every day. A year or 2 ago I went to the last remaining one we have, after not being for a decade, and it was disgusting. Your comment made me feel less crazy. I'm going to believe there were recipe changes while I was on break from them!
Used to work there (first job) and their sandwiches were the best. The Baja chicken was among them
Olive Garden did that with the Tripple Chocolate Strata they had years ago (and what they changed was if it was on their menu..), best dessert I ever had; I haven't been back since..
I felt the same when they changed the Black Angus into the Rosemary. Still good but not the same. Then i guess they got the name thing settled and called it the Black Angus once again. Sucks the state of Georgia only has 2 left, both just a few miles apart from each other in Atlanta. Whenever I’m in the city I’ve made it a thing to get me a Black Angus, always savoring it and wondering if it’ll be the last time.
Just like how some restaurants decide to take their most popular item off the menu. I dont get why they would do that??? Chilis just got rid of their southwestern spring roles, like WTF??
I got my first Quiznos ever, a couple of days ago while in Canada. Loved it so much!!!
My dad was a college professor and every time he’d have to bring me with him to school we’d go here for lunch. Good memories
that's sweet
Quiznos made the mistake of trying to compete with Subway on price, instead of quality.
Quiznos was delicious at first. Then Subway came out with the $5 Footlong. Quiznos seemed to respond by revamping the menu to lower price but also ingredient quality. They got rid of my favorite sub! Tuscan Turkey, I think? It had a wonderful red pepper sauce. New menu had no equivalent. That's when I stopped going.
Chain sub shops have become a race to the bottom...
Pretty much Subway said, 'no u'.
word!
Same here, my favourite was the prime rib with peppercorn. One day I walk in and get one and it has literally a fraction of the meat on it, I couldn't believe they thought they could get away with such a drastic decline in quality. I didn't set foot in a Quisno's for like a decade after that.
I miss Quiznos...so much better than Subway. Even though I'm in a good-sized city, there's none left here.
Dennis Joslin Jersey mikes is the best
@@Dimagiorp I still say quiznos is best but Jersey Mike's is definitely better than subway. Its definitely my second fave
id find a penn station if ur east coast or jimmy john's, those are pretty good substitutes
Your absolutely right about Subways, they are so generic. We used to have a Sub Station II here in town, they were pretty good, but all three of them gradually close down. Quiznos in my opinion was a decent place.
Dennis Joslin Subway is pretty generic, but I never really like Quiznos more. Firehouse Subs is better than both, though
I loved Quizno's, but unfortunately their prices began to skyrocket and locations had begun to close. I live in a city of 500K people, and there's only 2 locations here. Contrast that with 41 Subway's, about a dozen Jimmy Johns, and 5 Jersey Mikes.
After having watched this, I can definitely see why they declined.
The closest one to me is in a kind of baffling location: part of a truck stop a few miles outside Hammond, Louisiana, a town of about 20,000. I call it baffling because just an hour away to the west is the much bigger Baton Rouge, where all of the Quiznos locations have closed. I'm guessing the Hammond location gets a good chunk of its traffic from truckers and commuters off I-10.
I will say, the quizno's condiment bar was top notch! that A1 bbq and Honey Mustard elevated the sandwhich game!
Actually, that was the best part.
*sandwich
I always like Quiznos. The subs were tasty and the restaurants looked nicer than those at Subway. That said, I heard a long time ago how horrible the corporation was to their franchisees, basically strangling them for extra money. They treated the franchisees like revenue streams instead of business partners and in the end they ended up killing the goose that lays the golden egg.
That and I think they accured a TON of debt trying to expand so fast and got caught with their dick out during the debt crisis.
Totally agree i have good memories of that place when i was kid
quiznos dick
Personally felt like Quizno had better quality than Subway. I didn't mind paying more for a higher quality product.
Mimiko S i went there once. To expensive and the sandwich was about half the weight of a subway sandwich.Perhaps that was only at that particular franchise.
@@TheAngelOfTheBottomlessPit I don't go to either. I went to Q once and thought it was crazy overpriced. I have a Subway a block from my place and I pass it everyday. The only time I ever went there was to meet a girl who never showed up and who, I found out the next day, had her car impounded on her way to meet me.
You are right. Their sandwiches were better quality.
Mimiko S Try Jersey Mikes. A little expensive but worth every penny.
@@Carjamrac I use to go to Jersey Mikes. They are good
My sister worked there as a college student and the franchise owner was probably the same age as her and was very inexperienced in the food/restaurant industry. Management was so horrible that my sisters checks would bounce and the owner had to pay them later out of the register. She finally quit when she tried to go to a check cashing place to finally try to get paid on time and the check cashing place looked at the check and said we specifically dont take checks from Quiznos due them bouncing. I can't remember if she ever got the money for her paycheck...
The Chicken Carbonara Sandwich alone should have been enough to prop up even the most poorly ran of businesses. That sandwich is ridiculous
Agreed
Fr
loved those!
I still get the mesquite chicken when I come across a location, but IMO the prime rib on garlic bread was the greatest sandwich in existance
Agree... the Chicken Carbonara was almost orgasmic!
The town I lived in the Quiznos never opened. There was a sign that said "Quiznos Opening Soon". It was there for years until it finally just disappeared one day
@
thetony458 That is strange!
Every now and then I crave a Quiznos sub LOL I think it's the peppers
Honey mustard on the top bun had me sold!
I miss the double cheese cheese steak so bad!
@M Detlef Damn you need to chill, what if i called you a dumbass Chinese or a dumbass African? That's not nice now is it?
@M Detlef So you think Americans can't cook because people like certain restaurants? I'm assuming you have restaurants you like, unless your country is too poor to have any? If you want to pick on Americans then at least say something about lack of Metric system, overweight people, or even the crap we watch on television. Apparently you are too stupid to even be a proper bigot.... Please tell us your Country so that I can teach you good insults DUMBASS!!!!
And best sauces by far
Wow spot on we had two of these in my town, and they both closed as fast as they opened.......great job on this😊
I just realized I haven't seen a Quiznos in so long. Def better than subway.
@ty: I agree. The Q near me closed years ago. I loved their grilled sandwiches and they were tons better than Subway and Tubbies. I love grilled Italian sandwiches none exist near me in Metro Detroit.
Subway may suck in quality, but the have far more options. Though, it has been a little better now that they took "yoga mat" out of the bread.
Tuna on Italian herb and cheese, jalepenos, cucumbers, green peppers and lettuce. Little extra mayo. You're welcome
quiznos is way better than subway the bread is fresher & the subs are so good & a lot of variety & real steak instead of that fake crap
Quiznos is polishing the brass on the Titanic. Subway is better and has way more stores. The public has spoken
There is a Quiznos next to my work. I mentioned to my buddy I ate there the other day.
He said "Quiznos is still around?"
I just saw one on the way to the bank earlier. There's also one on the other side of town, not they're the only ones I've ever seen.
they opened up a new quiznos near my house not to long ago, but chose the WORST location for it. its in a strip mall thats mainly offices, behind a Safeway, and in between the Quiznos and the main street are about 5 other fast food places with another 6 jsut down the road, plus theres ready made meals, a deli, and take out in the Safeway. It's not even visible from the road. They went under after a few months and now the nearest quiznos is about 30 miles from here
@@arthas640 the only place I've ever seen them where I live is in strip malls, but I'm from a county with a high population, so they can afford to put them in those locations because they're high traffic areas. But I've only ever seen 2...
Will S there's 1 left in my town. Where are you from?
Home of the Toasted Sub, and zero management in stores, making certain all the stores I went into were dirty, and lacked supplies
Either have good food OR good management there ain't no having both
Yeah, there was a Quiznos by my work that was disgusting. It always looked like a train wreck. Old, crusty, dried up soup was caked all over the warming equipment. At first I thought it as just because they were to busy to clean. But then, I realized that they just weren't even bothering to clean it.
and only kids worked there.
That not the case with the two remaining where I live. The owners/managers are always there, very clean and good service. I think the only way they can make it now is if the owner also manages the store.
Snapshott1
That is fotunate for you. I like Quiznos. Their chili was awesome.
The medium sized city I live in had a Quiznos at one time, it may have closed like 10 years ago but I loved it, literally the best subs I’ve ever had. One day I got such a craving I drove out of town to a location just to get one. Nowadays there’s like 5 Subway franchises and still no Quiznos, which always perplexed me since there has never been anything quality about Subway from the service to the ingredients always have been subpar, yet it continues to grow and expand. I guess even a great business model can’t outlive a poorly run business !
It's a shame, they had the best sandwiches of any of the chain places.
Not anymore...I prefer subway now. There sandwiches are all like glazed and bbq since I was last there, and they were just sugary and nasty.
Pennstation man. No one is even close to Pennstation but they are very expensive.
This. I want muh chicken carb but the closest one is 2 hours away. :/
My brother was by far the pickiest eater when he was little and yet loved the prime rib sub.
well...depended on the local store... some were way better than others....
I loved the turkey bacon guac....but yeah 9-10 bucks a sub, wasn't a weekly lunch stop.
I used to work at a Quiznos. It was awful. The franchisee was a cable installation guy and he let his wife run it. She always acted like she didnt care about anything. One day we got new "security cameras", a few days after that we got robbed, but the cameras "weren't working". Felt very suspicious. That is the type of people they allowed to run their shops
That kind of story is so familiar. I worked as a security guard at a cemetery while I was an art student. One day a car was parked on one of the 16 miles of roads inside the front gate. I opened the car and searched the glove box and found the owner's card. It was an insurance salesman. I told him where his car was and he acted as if he didn't care. Later that evening as I was doing rounds, I noticed it was on fire. Of course I called 911 and the fire department and police came and then I called the owner again and told him what had happened. He reacted exactly the same as previously. I waited for him and he simply collected his tool box from the trunk and left. Nothing odd there, right?
@@JungleJoeVN sounds like insurance fraud
@@lightningchegg4823 my dad owned adjuster company for years and I did it for a bit. That was my Initial thought also.
Quiznos was always higher quality meat than Subway, but when the recession hit, people cared a lot more about a $5 foot long than a $10 foot long. I miss their sandwiches though.
I was an assistant manager at my local Quiznos when I was just coming out of high school. I loved the sandwiches and toasting them was very unique. I was able to make some crazy awesome combo sandwiches that of course were not on the menu so good times. Of course I moved on with life and a few years later the location disappeared. They are still around, in my case it's about a 40 min drive to the closest one currently. Definitely would be cool if they could revamp and come back.
i randomly thought about Quiznos after 10 years of forgetting they exist
Same but with Kmart. I pass by one in miami everyday but never shop there
Just discovered your channel today. As someone who works in the restaurant business who is interested in the industry as a whole, I find your videos pretty informative! Good work
Sup dude? Where are you?
It was the quality of the food that I really noticed as the years passed. They used to be really good, last time I was in one the food was not eatable, it was awful, never went back.
Their quality was never good
this happened because the franchisees were forced to use products that were "illegal" under the Quizznos agreement. The "legal" stuff was too expensive. My boss did this too. Had to cut on product, the product was not as good but only way to make a "profit" if he even did.