Where’s the Meat? Subway Faces Lawsuit Over Skimpy Sandwiches

In the midst of a rather turbulent year for fast-food restaurants — quick service establishments have been fighting “price wars” over the course of 2024 in a bid to increase sales — one famous franchise chain is facing serious criticism in the form of a lawsuit.

On Oct. 28, Subway was hit with a lawsuit alleging it “falsely advertises” the amount of meat in its steak and cheese sandwiches, FOX Business reported.

According to The New York Post, the suit was brought forward by Anna Tollison of Queens, New York City, after she paid $7.61 for a steak and cheese sandwich at a local Subway without realizing that “Subway’s ads showed a sandwich containing at least 200% more meat than she and other consumers would receive.”

Other menu offerings, including the “cheesy garlic steak,” were also accused of being skimpier on the meat in reality than restaurant advertising would have customers believe.

Consumers Critical of Fast-Food Advertising, Pricing

Commenters on both news outlets’ reportage indicated skepticism over truth in advertising when it comes to marketing put out by fast-food outlets, as well as criticism over recent pricing.

“Subway is in a going broke scenario. They ran out of ways to provide a sensible value to customers. When you have to spend $20 plus every time just to get a ‘deal’ then it really isn’t a deal,” one user wrote beneath the FOX Business report.

“Pick your poison… there’s not 1 picture of any fast-food outlet product that looks like what you get when you’re at [the] counter, and that includes its size and or how much of whatever is in it,” a second suggested.

A third user remarking on The New York Post report wrote: “It is impossible to cut the meat in a cold cuts sandwich any thinner than Subway.”

Subway Attempts To Lure Back Business With Promotional Pricing

Given persistent consumer concern regarding fast-food prices, per Restaurant Business, Subway rolled out a limited-time offer for $6.99 footlongs for participating restaurants in August, bucking a trend of sandwiches costing up to $14 otherwise. In tandem with a continuing sale of $3 value menu “dipper” mini-sandwiches, it appears Subway is attempting to reverse a sales slide.

In a mid-August meeting deemed “essential” in the wake of Subway’s $9 billion acquisition by Roark Capital, North American franchisees debated the merits of promotional pricing versus profitability.

“The terms ‘emergency’ and ‘essential’ were never mentioned in any official company communications to franchisees,” a source from Subway told FOX Business in a statement at the time. “The call was scheduled more than three weeks in advance. Additionally, value offers are strategically designed to help increase sales and traffic by attracting consumers. The claim that promotions lead to a decline in traffic contradicts the viewpoint of industry experts.”

Finding a balance that may reverse an industry-wide sales dip while also satiating consumer appetites for a filling meal that won’t hurt their pocketbooks may prove difficult for Subway — as well as its competitors. As FOX Business outlined back in May, a Subway footlong that cost about $5.50 in 2019 may go for as much as around $8.49 in 2024.

This latest class action lawsuit against Subway, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, is perhaps another sign of consumer discontent with the current state of affairs in the quick service industry. The lawsuit “seeks unspecified damages for New Yorkers who bought the sandwiches in the last three years, for Subway’s alleged violations of the state’s consumer protection laws,” per FOX Business.