Subway had the nation singing along to its jingle about foot-long submarine sandwiches for years starting in 2008. Now, some 15 years later, it’s introducing another foot-long item to the menu—one that might have even wider appeal.
The company plans to add a foot-long cookie to its permanent menu—and it’s celebrating that with a giveaway on Dec. 4, National Cookie Day. Customers who hit select Subway locations in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, and New York City will receive a free foot-long cookie with the purchase of (natch) a foot-long sub.
The foot-long cookie (which, for reasons that defy understanding, the company is not calling a fookie) made its debut a year ago at a pop-up in Miami. The company sold out within two hours. That sent a message to management.
“The overwhelming response we received from fans around the country last year let us know that we needed to make the foot-long cookie a permanent addition to our menu,” said Paul Fabre, senior vice president, culinary and innovation, at Subway in a statement.
The 2023 version of the foot-long cookie, Subway says, will be gooier and have even more chocolate chips. Like the smaller ones served now at stores, it will arrive warm. The chain did not say when the foot-long cookie would be available at all locations.
Subway in August was sold to Roark Capital, the owner of competitor Jimmy John’s as well as Arby’s, McAlister’s Deli, and Schlotzsky’s. The deal has come under scrutiny, however, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), saying she supports a reported Federal Trade Commission probe of the deal.
“We don’t need another private-equity deal that could lead to higher food prices for consumers,” she wrote on X last weekend.
Subway has 37,000 locations and is the largest restaurant chain in the world. It has lost substantial ground to competitors in recent years, though, closing 6,000 U.S. stores between 2015 and 2021. The company has since resumed opening new ones.