Bon Aire Hoagie Shop — Restaurant in Butler Township

Is it possible to give a zero? It should be possible to give this place a zero. For whatever reason, getting a proper hoagie in Butler, PA has proven much more difficult than I would have thought. That is the exact type of food I thought would be easy to find in abundance here.

I was ordering a Ham & Cheese hoagie from here and asked to add mayo. They told me that they don't do mayo, only miracle whip. What?!?! For that alone they should be stripped of the right to call themselves the "Hoagie" Shop. Even if the owner(s) is one of the very few on this planet of Earth who somehow prefer miracle whip over actual mayo, fine. To not even have mayo as an option though? It is one of the most common condiments that goes on sandwiches. Millions of time more popular than miracle whip. Literally millions. There certainly is over a million people a day (several million I would assume) adding mayo to their sandwiches and burger. How many in comparison are adding miracle whip?

Now look, the mayo thing, bizarre as they may be for that, is not enough to earn them the only one star review. It's that after I got "no mayo", I asked for a tuna salad sandwich instead, "we dont have that". I pointed to the sign on the wall that clearly read "Tuna Salad". After no explanation from the two kids behind the counter I said "Okay, I'll do a chicken salad hoagie". If you are picking up on the pattern I bet you can guess the response that I got, "we don't have that", again with no explanation or additional help. Then came the coup de gras. When in response to the 3rd "we don't have" I asked which items they do have, the girl responded, I kid you not, "we got those items on the board" and pointed to the same sign that I had pointed at listing "Chicken Salad" and "Tuna Salad". It was like I was in an episode of Seinfeld or a prank video show. I simply, without a word, turned around and left.

I attached a picture of the board below and highlighted chicken & tuna salad.

I will add this one thing, the free bread box that is done at the other location is very cool. I do a Little Free Library and food pantry outside of my home. So I very much appreciate that...

Steak Hoagie. Extra Meat. Red Sauce... WOW!

I’ve tried a handful of hoagies around Butler—especially the ones people highly recommend—and honestly, most have been just okay. Decent, but nothing memorable.

Funny enough, Bon Aire caught my eye on Day 1 in Butler—it’s right next to the realtor’s office where we signed the papers for our house. We were busy with all the paperwork that day, so I never stopped in. Over the last eight months, I’ve tried a few other popular spots, but every time, I walked away kinda disappointed.

Today, I happened to be nearby and finally gave Bon Aire a shot!

I ordered a small cheesesteak hoagie. I usually get ranch on the side, so when the woman behind the counter asked if I wanted to skip the usual red steak sauce, I told her to go ahead and put it on the side—I figured I’d at least try it.

Now, I’ve had that Pittsburgh-style red steak sauce before—at Fiori’s and Mineo’s—and to be honest, I didn’t love it. It always felt a little out of place on a steak hoagie.

But this one? You could actually smell the seasoning. The flavor hit different—way better than I expected!

I gave the ranch a try first and it was fine… but then I dipped it in the red sauce. Next level!!! Especially with the extra meat—it just all worked together perfectly.

No question—I’m getting the...

This home town place has some of the best French fries in butler. The hoagies are always delicious! Try the hot sausage or the fish hoagie! They are huge! The small order of fries are big alone enough to fill you up! My wife and I finish off the fries before we even make it home! The prices are really reasonable and the place if local! Why not go here when you’re hungry! You don’t have to spend 30$ for hoagie meals for two like some of the chain hoagie shops and you are also supporting local businesses! Stop here, you won’t regret it! Highly...