Subway — Restaurant in Saint Paul

I loathe chain sandwich shops. Or because there are mainly two I come across it might be easier to say that I loathe Subway and Jimmy John's. Some of that comes from a history of them being the provided food at the annual staff day at my job, which even now, thinking of it, and despite having missed said day for five years running, fills me with an alarming, unreasoning rage. I mean, do I think the management that provides this food should be summarily ridiculed and dismissed for malfeasance? Do I think my co-workers are compliant sheep with horrible taste for putting up with it? Do I think it is emblematic of everything wrong in the World and our culture?

Unfortunately, yes. And sometimes, embarrassingly, I actually express these feelings.

It's a little out of proportion.

I mean, I can see that to be true even as I consider these shops to be poisonous blots on our landscape and literal crimes against humanity!

Oops, I did it again.

So, fine, I don't like that the county and library system I work for is cheap, lazy, and hostile to its workers as expressed by the use of these establishments. I don't like the shoddy, manipulative, stultifying quality of their food, their labor exploitation, and their sickening abuse of animals in the interest of unseemly profit. And I don't like the ugly way one can walk the streets of Paris and come upon one of these pustules mysteriously operating, in public, with seeming impunity. Oh how the French have fallen! But it does all kind of beg the question: Why them? Why, so particularly do I hate them? There are almost endless hideous chains out there peddling their ruinous brand. In the food world alone why don't I experience this level of hate for Taco Bell, Starbucks, Domino's, Wendy's, or Caribou Coffee (well, I kind of do for Caribou Coffee)?

I didn't have an answer. Until a couple days ago, when I thought of Sepi's.

Sepi's was the almost mythical sub sandwich place of my childhood. Located in Westwood, in L.A., it was far enough away from where we lived to be a small, occasional treat in the litany of our fast food eating. Since it is probably 40 years since I had a Sepi's sub everything about them has a rosy haze around it; their plenitude, delightful wrapping, perfectly pitched baguette, rich and vinegary saturation, thick layers of tasty meats and lettuce and slightly cured onion. I do not believe it is actually as good as I remember, and the fact that it has remained irreproducible only confirms that understanding.

But even if there is no matching a mythical sandwich, it nevertheless remains true that an actually good sub sandwich, let alone the dream one, is not something I can find in the modern landscape of American cities. Does it not exist? No, somewhere probably there are a few around, even if I haven't come across them. But they are not readily available. There is excellent Mexican food around and about, I am a five minute walk from fantastic coffee and they are not the only purveyor in town even if they are still the best. Independent, interesting pizza is plentiful enough. Clever, conscious and delicious hamburgers are positively ubiquitous these days. But subs? These chains of Subway and Jimmy John's appear to have fully broken the spirit of the consumer base. They have shattered the standard so badly that the genre of sub sandwich is no longer a viable part of the every day food landscape.

Yes I dislike Burger King and Papa Murphy's and will say annoyingly hostile things about them to co-workers who just want something cheap to eat, but their damage, though insidious, is still limited. It is still qualified. It has only sucked half the oxygen out of the equation. The duopoly sub shop hegemony is more complete, and so more horrible for it. It has, effectively, murdered the sub shop.

Although, I mean, I guess I could still make a pretty good...

I was not planning on doing a review on Subway today but we saw not good stuff. I have worked for a Deli, and was a Customer Service Manager, and did other positions for over 20years at a Cub Foods. So what I saw was a shock. The person with me was shocked also she worked for a Bakery for over 20 years.

First started that really didnt bother us is the front door was locked. The staff told us to walk around the building and go through the back ok. We figured the shoveling was maybe not done due to the building. We walked in at least they had 1 wet floor sign but no rugs, muddy water piles every where. I was a little worried someone would get hurt.

But this is what shocked us…..

Meat on slicer just sitting their, you can tell its been their for a while (reminder I had worked in a deli with the same slicer) cutting board wasnt clean, meat was stuck all over besides just machine, The vegys and other things stuck on cutting board, counter. A used knife had been sitting on the counter. And more….

Health department would have fined this Subway big time.

A spoon was just sitting their maybe with marinara sauce exposed and looked dried, containers with nothing in them but had sauces on bottom. If you would put that spoon back into the sauce it could have dust, debris of misc on it and you would have put this back in the sauce. This could make others sick..

The vegys looked old, wilty, dried out, spinach was out with dried red sauce on the bottom, the meat didnt look to good.

The breads were in a cart looked like the glass or no covering at all was their to protect the breads from the environment, dust, particles, anything.

I asked for tuna and it looked like I barely got any but all subways are different so ok, Vegys looked so sad. Sauces in tubes almost or were out.

While one staff was doing our sandwhiches the other staff member was worried a certain person was pulling up to the store. He quickly unlocked the front door and took out a bunch of trash in a cart. That was disturbing. But ok.

Place just was gross. Anyhow I have pictures below.

While downloading the normal stuff about the store on google you will see something that had caught my eye. Never knew about this. You will see subway saying buy 1 get 1 free sub. I know nothing about this. You will also see we paid for the normal price. This does not matter to us. What matters is how bad the store was and if someone gets sick due to this...

i have been coming to this subway for a few years now me and my family and more often then not you will see a guy with nice eyes and great smile working by himself and whats amazing to me is that even though it's just him he keeps the store clean and stocked and ready to serve everyone that comes through that door and you can tell he has been there for years and is very skilled at his job because he is so fast and efficient you would think its a whole crew in there he has always been nice to me and my family whenever he is there we really appreciate that we just feel the need to return the favor and speak up for him since i can see through these reviews he needs it I have stood in line and watched the way some customers speak to him is not right all because he is trying to get us in and out as fast as we allow him to upset because he clearly has the skill and work experience to run the entire store by himself upset because he has a online order to do when you walked in and instead of being patient literally demanding him to stop that and make your sub mind you they guy is fast like i said earlier so you don't even have to wait long at all ...you can tell that the customers are his priority he stays ready for us ..or your mad because he is asking you the question i would think a subway worker should be asking you but you don't want to answer like how is he or anyone else supposed to make your sandwich if you don't allow him then when he lets you know you call him rude ...these reviews sound so personal and racially profiled its a shame I’m sorry if you are that insecure about a black guy with dreadlocks being able to work by himself and that skilled that ready to make your sub look yourself in the mirror because you probably don't have that kind of control and work ethic and self pride in your life ill end with this me and my husband after seeing what he goes through asked him how does he put up with it for as long as he has and he told us he is used to it and he just has a job to do and nothing is that personal to make him quit ....so before subway fails him or another privileged evil person gets him fired  thank you for always being helpful and nice and I’m sorry people in this world do not want to see you succeed and please stay strong because i know the more good you do the mad they become ill bring my family there for his service any day, myself, and my family give him five stars as an...