Blimpie was much like a very basic version of Subway. No toasted subs, but ingredients were pretty much in full view. I actually liked them as I thought their products seemed fresher. But they have been steadily disappearing from the Pacific Northwest and I haven't seen one in a few years. Quiznos seems like they have many issues with franchisees...went to one once and wanted to have a sandwich made a specific way (due to allergies) and they threw a fit when they had to deviate from the "assembly line" menu. This left a bad impression on me, and a big chunk of Quiznos locations have closed. Subway took the toasted sandwich concept and ran with it though. Personally, I would choose Subway over Quiznos any day.pseudo3d wrote: ↑December 30th, 2017, 1:21 pmThe sandwich market is indeed very overcrowded, but I don't think anyone has done it quite like Subway with all ingredients in full view. I think that's one of the reasons they became so popular to begin with. (disclaimer: never been to Blimpie or Quiznos). That was also part of their downfall is that the ingredients just don't look very good a lot of the time. The disadvantage of another franchise of course is falling prey to the same mistakes Subway made to begin with.wnetmacman wrote: ↑December 30th, 2017, 11:03 amYou mean like Quiznos or Blimpie? Already we are speaking of an overcrowded market. All three have shown that it isn't a good concept. Giving the franchisees room to go rogue won't work, as the oven is owned by Subway and must be returned upon closure.pseudo3d wrote: ↑December 30th, 2017, 9:17 am What I think will happen is that (if the economy holds up) is that a lot of Subway franchisees will break off and form a new company similar to Kaleidoscoops/Baskin-Robbins in 1999 (where terminated franchises banded together and made a new ice cream company), that is, a sandwich shop operation very similar to Subway operations-wise but free of Subway's bullshit that forces inferior ingredients and an impossible price point. I'd like to see this chain, personally, and hope they carry more unusual ingredients like garlic.
Meanwhile, many of the longtime independent sandwich shops have disappeared. While there is spotty coverage by Firehouse Subs, Jimmy John's, and others, nobody comes close to Subway as far as number of locations, and is often the only sandwich shop in a given area.