Subway’s famous footlong isn’t measuring up, and its headquarters is taking action.
A shift supervisor at the Gainesville Subway at 5210 NW 13th St., Ric Lasley, 21, said headquarters asked every Subway restaurant to measure and photograph random loaves of bread to ensure the subs are a full 12 inches.
Lasley said he sent about 20 photos to headquarters last week. The subs were all 12 inches long.
The issue arose earlier this month when a photo went viral online of a footlong sub next to a ruler, revealing an 11-inch sandwich, Lasley said.
Two men from New Jersey sued Subway Tuesday for false advertising, saying Subway has been cheating them, according to the Associated Press.
Aubrey Grant, a 19-year-old UF health education and behavior sophomore, said he wants the men to admit they don’t care how long the sandwich is and just want money.
“You know the sandwich tastes good,” Grant said.
Grant said he’s eaten at Subway for 10 years and wouldn’t care if a footlong only measured 10 inches.
“When I see a big, ginormous sandwich, I know that it’s going to fill me up, so I don’t really care if it’s 12 inches,” he said. “I care about the quality of food and how good it is.”
Lasley said people have been coming in and asking for an 11-inch sub. He said they all think the inch-inspired uproar is ridiculous. They request 11 inches in jest, he said, so he replies in jest.
“That’s all we have, sir,” he said.
The bread comes ready to be baked, so no employee could accidentally put too little bread in one sandwich, Lasley said.
Lasley said he thinks the case could go either way.
If the men win, Subway might rename their products as a half or whole sub, he said. Or they could add an asterisk, clarifying that it may not actually be 12 inches.
“A ‘Footlong’ is just a registered trademark,” he said. “It’s not depicting the size of the bread. It’s just a name.”
