The Decline of Quiznos...What Happened? 

I’m a former Quiznos franchise owner and everything you said in this video is accurate. We were burdened with excessive fees, excessive food costs, constant pressure to upgrade the decor and unreasonable staffing expectations that drove our payroll thru the roof. I still love the food but the company was greedy and made enemies of their franchise owners.

They need a new tag line. Something catchy like, "Quiznos. 100% flavor. 0% Jared."

In 2004 there was a Quiznos in North Seattle that the franchise owners abandoned without warning the staff. The crew continued to run the shop by driving to other locations for bread, and using the daily earnings to buy meat, veggies and to pay employees. They would buy cases of Vanilla Coke (making it the only beverage) because it was cheap and being phased out. They did this for a month before corporate offices stepped in after being shamed by local media.

The fact that so many people love their food, and miss it a lot, really highlights how hard they failed

Well, it's all because that guy who spins the sign around too fast. I still don't know which way the Quiznos is...

I’m glad to hear it was due to poor management. I had thought that America just preferred Subway over Quiznos. That idea bothered me.

Mismanagement out the waazoo is the only thing that makes sense if you’ve ever had one of their subs. It wasn’t just the toasting - their sandwich types were creative, fresh, and just freaking delicious. It’s a shame when a legit great product is run into the ground through CEO greed and incompetence.

He forgot to mention the 5 Dollar footlong at Subway which was a big deal during the recession. This lead to Quiznos trying to compete with more affordable offerings at a cost of quality

I was a manager of a location in Lakewood, CO. My store was a franchisee training store and yes the people who bought franchises had no clue what they were doing, most of them had never even been in the food industry before. Fun fact: The reason subway got ovens was because coca-cola came in and told them if they switch from Pepsi to coke they’d put ovens in all their locations. Undercutting Quiznos like that pissed off the brand and that’s why you see Pepsi products, when before 2004 Quiznos had coke products.

As a customer I think 2 thing kept you out of the restaurant: 1. High prices 2. Every other sub place started offering toasted subs.

I miss the local Quiznos. Their subs, being toasted, were certainly better than Subway's. And they had a chili-style soup at one time that was absolutely superb.

I was sad when my local quiznos closed in STL. The hot sandwiches were delicious and the owner was sweet and classy. It became obvious she was exhausted and trying to control costs because (as far as i know) she was the only employee. Who would think a business could fail with fantastic customer service and a product everyone loves? I miss the chicken carbonara and black angus sandwiches!

I literally thought that Quiznos didn't exist anymore

The one word that best describes what caused Quiznos' downfall is greed. They had a quality product and allowed it to self-destruct.

As I recall, Quiznos toasted their subs by running them on a rotating belt of sorts thru a type of broiler, not in an oven. They were quite good that way, I thought. Crisped the bread just right.

I remember back in 2000 a Quiznos opened up in my hometown and I started getting my lunchbreak sandwiches there. They were quite good, and I really enjoyed the food. However, less than half a year after it opened the shop closed and seemingly vanished. I think this video has done a great job explaining why that probably happened.

As a former franchisee, I can attest to the fact that we closed the store simply due to the high food cost. Buying from the required food vendor was 2K to 3K a week on sales of 10K. After paying rent, 11% total in two different franchise fees, utilities and labor costs, we were losing money week after week. Eventually, it no longer makes sense to keep bailing out a sinking ship and it is time to save yourself.

My mother was a Dialysis patient for over 20 years. In the early 2000's, a Quiznos opened up across the street from her Dialysis unit (Concord, Ca, off of Oak Grove Blvd.). I introduced her to the place and she fell in love with one of them 'toasted' sandwiches. She was at the unit 3 days a week, and after a 3 hour run of having her blood cleansed, she'd swing by the Quiznos and treat herself to a sandwich. There was some modification she appreciated and the staff knew exactly how to make it before she ordered. She passed in 2009, and so did most of the Quiznos after that. I thought her passing in large part lead to the decline of Quiznos... Sorry Quiznos, it was partially my mom's fault; however, you both had a lot of great years! If I can locate a Quiznos, I try to visit one on the anniversary of her passing. : )

There was definitely a consistency problem across franchisees. There were 4 Quiznos locations near my hometown, one of them was really good: quality sandwiches, clean decor, well staffed; the other three, not so much. One was so gross looking that I walked out without ordering and never went back. Sadly, the one good Quiznos closed circa 2007, as the owner couldn't afford to keep it running. It was going to be reopened under new ownership, but the recession killed that before it could happen. It's such a shame that the business self-destructed. Their sandwiches were far and above all of the other chain sandwich shops.

I have to correct one point. The main thing Quiznos had over Subway wasn't the toasting, it was having food that tasted good. Wish Subway would have copied this part as well.

They even sent my dad a letter to ask about franchising... My dad is a mechanic.......

I actually miss the hell out of Quiznos.

When I was 17 I worked at Quiznos. I really liked the food. After I had moved on to a new job, I went in one day for a sub with my friends. They had a $5 foot long deal poster out in front of the door. When I tried to order it, they told me they're not honoring the $5 foot long deal. I asked about the sign out front and they explained that "corporate" made them put it out there but that they weren't honoring it... We were pissed and I never went back after that day.

I live in Colorado, and to see this happen real time was so sad... there was one literally within walking distance of my house when we bought it.... but within a year later it was converted into a Poke Bowl place (specifically for the reasons enumerated in the video). Now there are like 3 stores in all of Denver, but store #1 is still amazing for subs. All they need to do is get their act together, get a better business model, and their sandwich can NOT be beat, I would argue, because of the Italian flavors that they offered and the pepper bar was TOP NOTCH!

At least Quiznos didn't have Jared.

Quiznos was way better than Subway....I'm having flashbacks of that Black Angus steak..chicken carbona..Baja...they were awesome...this video made me realize I haven't seen a Quiznos or had one in years!!!!!

They had two in Seoul (that I am aware of). The one that I went to most often eventually closed. Probably 8 to 10 years ago. The other one (which I discovered many years later) was a Quiznos in name only. They had all the branding (signage, bags, wrappings), but had a completely improvised menu. The owner once told me that there was no longer support for her, so she made a menu that would sell.

I worked for Quiznos Subs from Feb 2010 - May 2015. I started as a crew member and was a GM by the end. I have worked at 7 locations, 2 of which I helped train crew and grand open, most of which I worked simultaneously, and 5 of which were the top-selling stores in their respective region. I never owned a location, but I heard many bad things about corporate from the franchisees, and If I’m being sincere, I wasn’t paid well myself. Anyway, I want to give credibility to everything Company Man has said in this video, and verify that everything he has said is spot on. Company Man, you don’t need to be nice about it, but I appreciate your being nice to avoid offending anyone. I, however, will be blunt and upfront about it. Here are some of the things I encountered while working for Quiznos. The food was great, and I still love it. However, the “supplies” were so highly-priced that one of the franchisees owned a different restaurant or franchise than Quiznos (I won’t say which franchise). Still, he would order his produce, drink syrups, and whatever else he could through the other franchise to save on cost. He would even go to Sam’s Club to buy bottled drinks for sale rather than purchase anything through Quiznos. Other franchise owners would go to grocery stores or bulk-buy stores like Smart & Final or Costco to get fresh produce, plates, cups, plastic utensils, napkins, toilet paper, you name it. As you can imagine, this put the franchisees in danger of corporate repercussions if caught, but they felt they had no choice. It was like the Franchisees and Corporate were constantly battling each other. You could cut the tension between the two with a knife. I watched three of the four locations in my hometown change ownership to a far less business-savvy person, only to close a few months or years later and open back up as something else. I witnessed one of the far less business-savvy owners use old slimy rotting bell peppers (Just got to cut around the rotted part), old mushrooms (Just got to cover them in oil and send them through the oven), or if we had an old day dot, AKA expiration date (Replace it with a new container and relabel). So basically, corporate greed and the franchisee’s desperate attempt to stay in business ultimately hurt the loyal customers. Over time, fewer customers from gross-tasting food meant older and older food being sold. At least, that was the case at a select few locations I can think of. When a franchisee closed their shop, they or their employees would sometimes take seating & tables, prep tables, and other items from the store that they couldn’t sell to other franchise owners after the close. I personally do not see Quiznos Subs ever making a comeback. Other superior sandwich franchise models have long caught on to the toasted sub-trend, and Quiznos isn’t unique anymore. Except for their commercial campaigns. For my final story, I attended a Quiznos corporate gathering of GMs, Owners, and corporate members. At the end of the meeting, the host commented that a new commercial was coming out, that it was brilliant, and involved the three blind mice. You can imagine my disappointment when the commercial came out.

I managed a couple stores in the years when the decline started and you nailed it. The distributor costs went insane and the food quality got worse. We started shopping at a local restaurant supply house for produce and such because the stuff we were getting from the approved supplier would show up rotten. When corporate noticed they fined the store owner. It was a no-win situation and very discouraging. I still miss those sandwiches though

Quiznos: "We toasted our subs!" Subway: "Well we just bought a toaster" Quiznos: (INTENSE SWEATING)

I had also heard that corporate forced the locations to sell so many specials and coupon deals that they could not make money. I for one, seldom ate inside the restaurant, I usually bought one or two (and generally always ordered one of the promotional subs) and took them home of to the office. So they never made money on a lot of us for things like sides, sodas, chips. But they always had to offer those deals...and I was always looking for that special. My guess is the shop never made a lot of money if all people would buy was the reduced costs or sale subs.

I think the cost of Quiznos is what hurt them. When Subway started doing their $5 footlongs campaign it really hurt Quiznos. Because at Quiznos you would end up paying over $25 for two subs when you can go to Subway by four Subs for the same price and you can feed your entire family. To me the cost was the downfall. There's a reason why McDonald's and Taco Bell are profitable is because they sell affordable food. In the end price is always what it comes down to.

It's a shame, their sandwiches were far superior to Subway

I worked at a Quiznos from about 2005-2009 and I can truthfully say this video is very accurate. I worked pretty closed with the majority owner and he didn't have previous experience and also told me he hated how much their suppliers charged. He did his best and eventually dropped the franchise agreement and made it into his own personal sub shop but unfortunately it eventually closed as well.

I used to order Quiznos from a location near my house two or so times a week. After the online ordering made it so I had to do a $75+ order I stopped. It was really weird getting a call a week or two later from the franchise owner asking if something happened.

I loved Quizno's, but unfortunately their prices began to skyrocket and locations had begun to close. I live in a city of 500K people, and there's only 2 locations here. Contrast that with 41 Subway's, about a dozen Jimmy Johns, and 5 Jersey Mikes. After having watched this, I can definitely see why they declined.

I LOVED Quiznos. Other sub places put their subs in that terrible quick toaster which just makes the bread hard. The toaster at Quiznos was legit.

You hit that on the head. Plus there was more. I was a manager of one from 2004 to 2006 when we had to close. Quiznos corp was our worse enemy.

It was the quality of the food that I really noticed as the years passed. They used to be really good, last time I was in one the food was not eatable, it was awful, never went back.

It's a damn shame what greed will do to a good idea.

Ah, so the problem was greed. Quiznos exploited their franchisees through inflated distribution fees.

I loved Quiznos, all the stores around here have been closed for several years, so havn't had it in ages.

Great analysis, and very interesting! Yes, when Quiznos was new, I thought their subs were far better than any other chain, but you're absolutely right that their initial point of differentiation ("toasted") was far too easy to replicate. I have a neighbor who opened a Quiznos franchise, and talk about timing: it was 2008, and iirc, he and his wife had the place open for only a year or so. (Fortunately, he found other, better work, and his family seems to be doing well now.) Keep up the good work with your excellent videos!

What you're describing is exactly what Subway is going through right now. To many fanchises and the franchisees are miserable and want out of their deals.

me in high school: who reads the wall street journal? Who the hell cares about business if you're not involved? How boring! me now: this video about the decline of a once major sandwich chain is fascinating

3:15 "...to two men named Rick Schaden." *Whoa, clones!* "They were a father-and-son team." *Darn, what a disappointment.*

I got my first Quiznos ever, a couple of days ago while in Canada. Loved it so much!!!

Wow spot on we had two of these in my town, and they both closed as fast as they opened.......great job on this😊

Quiznos at their peak was the best sandwich maker.

Quiznos was too expensive especially during the $5 foot long era at subway.

I remember my first exposure to Quiznos was their insane commercial with the musical hamsters things. It was usually on late at night on Adult Swim if I remember right. I just thought they were hilarious, and wanted to go there ever since. I did a few times and it was pretty good. That was years ago though.

When they first came out they were amazing. Went all the time. The quality went through the floor and many franchise owners gave up and had such inconsistencies.

My step dad owned a Quizno's between 2000-2005. Loved the food (specifically the Chicken Carbonara & broccoli cheese soup). The cost of maintaining and running that place was outrageous!

I just learned that Howard Johnson used to be the largest restaurant chain and today has one remaining store. That would be a very interesting story! Love the channel great stuff.

The Quiznos in my town was really good and my favorite sub was the french dip. I noticed at some point quality took a nose dive and in about a year they closed shop. This probably had to do with them requiring to buy from that specific distributor you mentioned. Was cool to watch all the subs roll through the toaster on a conveyor belt. I kinda miss the good Quiznos before they shot themselves in the foot.

Never been to a Quizno's but your video made me look one up on my neighborhood, Ill try it out today!

I loved Quiznos. Every store within 50 miles of my house, closed. I haven't actually seen a Quiznos store in several years, now that i think about it.

I remember reading about Quiznos on Wikipedia a long time ago. Turns out their treatment of franchisees was so severe that one guy straight up killed himself. Horrible way to run a company and I'm glad it's gone. Or just about, at least.

The Quiznos Spongmonkies Ad played so much on Cartoon Network around 2006-2007.

Quiznos, Blimpies and Lenny’s all had good food in my area as well as many other sandwich shops. When companies go big, surviving comes down to two things, marketing and management. You screw either two up and it’s probably not going to last long

I forgot that Quiznos even existed, haven't eaten there since 2007. 😂

I loved Quiznos as a kid. I still remember liking their subs over Subway. Unfortunately all the Quiznos in my area are closed down.

Loved the chicken carbonara. That was my "go-to" sub at Quiznos. Hadn't seen one since the late 00's, until I stumbled upon one randomly at a rest stop in central West Virginia a few years ago when I was an over-the-road trucker. Was shocked to find one because I assumed that they had completely shut down. Once I found it, started frequenting the place every time I came through there for...you guessed it...the chicken carbonara. Mmm mmm mmm toasty!

Living in a town with close to a million people, at one time we had a TON of Quiznos locations, now we have just 1 that is somehow still surviving. I convinced my husband to go there the other night (he used to love Quiznos but is now convinced the quality of food is terrible so he generally refuses to eat it) because I still love the chicken carbonara and was craving broccoli cheese soup. (Originally thought of panera but they apparently stopped making my favorite sandwich, but that’s another story). The sandwich and soup tasted just like I remember but for the last couple of years anytime i stop by that Quiznos there is maybe one or two other people in there besides me. They are even located right by our airport, very sad because they were always far superior to subway in my opinion. I know in my heart one day that last Quiznos will close and I don’t look forward to it. 😔

Those Quizno "spongemonkey" commercials seem like a fever dream to me! I'm so glad you have them here. No one ever knew what I was talking about when I said "those Quizno singing nuggets warning you about paper cuts"

I'm glad you specified the Rick Schadens were father and son or my mind would have been blown

I loved quiznos, I didn't try the original franchises, I had it much later on, but I still preferred them over all the other sandwich joints. They had some delicious toasted sandwhiches.. I wish they were still around over here.

Their sandwiches were great, but I couldn't afford to eat there. It was a once in a while treat.

I remember hearing that Quiznos sells the ingredients to their franchisees at a profit to them. That sucks because Quiznos was superior to Subway for the longest time. They could've blown up.

I've only had Quiznos once in my life and it was at an airport. It was a very memorable sandwich.

Quiznos was always higher quality meat than Subway, but when the recession hit, people cared a lot more about a $5 foot long than a $10 foot long. I miss their sandwiches though.

There is one in Oklahoma an hour from the city and close to my hometown. It’s still open and still so so good

I worked at Quiznos from 2004-2006, during their peak. Our location was extremely busy 7 days a week. Still, the franchise owner ended up closing it a couple years later, citing an inability to turn a profit.

Quiznos was a good alternative to Subway pre 2010. It was a bit more expensive but their ingredients were better and their sandwiches were overall higher quality. Since then though, as you said, the market has become extremely competitive and now you can find a number of very compelling options that offer better sandwiches, often for better prices. They seem to just have faded into obscurity among all the other popular restaurants.

I did like Quiznos. I did not know about the forced supplier issue. Now there is much more competition as you point out. Jersey Mikes, Chipotle, Pot Belly, and Panera. More varied options. Subway has hung in there even through Tunagate and the Jared fiasco.

When I lived in another market in the early 2000's, there was one in walking distance of where I worked and I have fond memories of their sandwiches, some of which were very good. There are several closed locations in the market where I reside now.

The 2007 peak sounds about right cause that's when I remember Quiznos and I, along with many friends, preferred it over Subway

What happened to Quiznos? They ran their business poorly.

I loved Quiznos so much; I bought the company. Opening new locations soon - we're fine and we missed you ...

I loved Quiznos. They've all since closed around here, but there used to be one right across the street from our recording studio we frequented quite often.

My experience with Quiznos was more about my experience with my local Quiznos owner. Dude was hella chill and I’d take my girlfriend on dates there. Eventually he learned our names and we became regulars. When we broke up he’d talk about how we were his favorite and how he loved seeing us together. Dude knew my order and I’d just walk in and sit down and he’d make it and I’d pay him. Got to the point where he even gave me a tab and I’d pick up a sandwich for lunch and pay him after school. Love quiznos.

Quiznos was my spot! Their sandwiches were sooo delicious. Perfectly toasted bread with quality ingredients. Miss them so much.

The last Quiznos closed it’s doors a few months ago near me…I cried. LOVED their sandwiches!

I remember going to the local Quiznos in high school during band breaks. 2008 was the last time I went to the local one before it closed down. There was no reason to dislike Quiznos and solid reasons to like them. I thought they were off the map for good, but it turns out there is still one about 30 minutes from here.

There was a Quiznos I used to always go to during my meal break at my old job and one day it just randomly closed down, now I finally know the reason why. I loved Quiznos and yeah Subway also toasts their subs, but it pales in comparison and the subs are either not toasted enough or are kept in for too long, they are never toasted to perfection like at Quiznos.

The town I lived in the Quiznos never opened. There was a sign that said "Quiznos Opening Soon". It was there for years until it finally just disappeared one day

I think Subway also introduced the option to have your sub toasted, probably even before 2010.

I remember when I was a kid when subway was falling off of its peak (it was still poppin) but my dad and I started going to Quiznos because we are usually the type to not go for the mainstream lol and we thought their sandwiches were better than subway Sad to see it fall so far hopefully they can bring the restaurant back

It sounds like a 2 tiered Ponzi-scheme. Another good restaurant that was miss-managed. They have all closed by me... and I miss them.

I miss Quiznos...so much better than Subway. Even though I'm in a good-sized city, there's none left here.

I remember the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Quiznos was the place to get a sub. You could order any kind of bread. It was very expensive. I only got it once. It was too expensive for me. But, every Friday I decided to eat my TV dinners, while everyone else bought Quiznos.

When I lived in Milwaukee there was a regional restaurant chain called Cousin's Subs. They had such great food. What made them stand out was their excellent bread. You could buy a 12 inch sub bun for around 35¢. (This was in in the early 2000s)

Quiznos made the mistake of trying to compete with Subway on price, instead of quality. Quiznos was delicious at first. Then Subway came out with the $5 Footlong. Quiznos seemed to respond by revamping the menu to lower price but also ingredient quality. They got rid of my favorite sub! Tuscan Turkey, I think? It had a wonderful red pepper sauce. New menu had no equivalent. That's when I stopped going. Chain sub shops have become a race to the bottom...

My aunt and uncle owned a quiznos. I remember them always complaining about how they're making no profit. It was all being spent on the product. They always told them it's because they're paying for high quality food.

Quiznos used to slap and "they got a pepper bar" randomly pops in my head at least twice a month. Iykyk

There was a Quiznos 3 blocks from my job and I used to pass it every time I went to get food from somewhere else. I decided to try them out one day in 2016. I walked in and the employee didn't greet me and told me they were closing early and to try tomorrow. I drove by and the entire restaurant was gutted the next day, no warning, no nothing. I've noticed that they're back in business there again. If you're ever in Roseville Ca. I'd advise you to just drive right past it. I've got 500+ coworkers and no one from my job goes there....and they'll eat anything.

I miss Quiznos. LOVED their subs! Reckless, uncontrolled expansion at the expense of Quality/Integrity. Kind of like cancer. Throw in Irrational Corporate Greed, and this GREAT Sandwich Maker was doomed :(

Quiznos was probably one of my favorite places to go get some food, so this was really neat to see what happened and where all the Quizno's went. Thank you!

Last time I went to a Quiznos was 6 years ago. I just check the location where it used to be and it is not there anymore. Sad to hear the troubles. GREAT TASTING SUBS

I have fond memories of Quiznos my dad and I would always stop and get some as a kid when we were out and about getting materials for projects.