Subway Israel ( he, סאבוויי) was a fast food sandwich chain, an international franchise of
Subway. Opening in 1992, they expanded to 23 branches around Israel before they closed in 2004.
[Eat fresh, eat kosher: Subway the largest U.S. kosher restaurant chain]
– Retrieved 28 August 2014
History
In the early 1990s, Subway began expanding their international franchises at a much more rapid pace, with Israel being one of those places.
In 1992 Subway entered Israel for the first time. In 2004, when the original franchisee died, the chain closed their 23 locations.
Kashrut
Although not all restaurants in Israel were
kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
, all did refrain from pig products. Not wanting to ostracize itself from the Jewish residents of Israel, Subway did not offer bacon or ham.
Other kosher Subways
Outside of Israel, the only other kosher Subways are located in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, which opened its first location in 2006 in a suburb of
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. Subway spokesman
Jared Fogle
Jared Scott Fogle (; born August 23, 1977) is an American former spokesman for Subway restaurants. Fogle appeared in Subway's advertising campaigns from 2000 to 2015, when he publicly became the subject of a Federal Bureau of Investigation inv ...
attended the opening of the first kosher Subway branch at the Mandel
JCC of Cleveland. Subway's press release on the opening stated, "With slight modifications, such as no pork-based products, and the use of soy-based cheese product, the menu is virtually identical to that of any other Subway restaurant."
There had been 11 branches in August 2009,
and peaked at 12 branches.
[THE REMAINING KOSHER SUBWAY RESTAURANTS IN THE U.S. ]
– Retrieved 28 August 2014 Soon after, they began closing, however, and were down to 5 by August 2011.
Many issues have led the US branches to close. One of the main issues is that 4.5% of all sales are paid to Subway corporate for advertising; however, they received no benefits from the advertising since it was not kosher-specific.
[Local franchises of sandwich chain were touted as next big kosher thing. What happened?]
– Retrieved 28 August 2014 Additionally, due to the higher cost of kosher meat, non-kosher consumers stayed away due to the lack of participation in the "Five-Dollar Footlong" promotion.
Reemergence attempts
In May 2009 it was announced that a new investor, Gur Gal,
had purchased the franchise rights to Subway in Israel. The new investor had rented space in
Herzliya
Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...
and was in talks to rent additional space in on
Rothschild Boulevard
Rothschild Boulevard (, ''Sderot Rotshild'') is one of the principal streets in the center of Tel Aviv, Israel, beginning in Neve Tzedek at its southwestern edge and running north to Habima Theatre. It is one of the most expensive streets in the c ...
in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
.
[Subway to return to Israel]
– Retrieved 28 August 2014 His plans stated he would eventually open 130 branches around Israel.
The new locations never opened, and a lawsuit between Gur Gal and Subway was settled in arbitration, with no details released.
In June 2014, it was once again announced that Subway was looking to return to Israel and was looking for franchises.
– Retrieved 28 August 2014
See also
*Culture of Israel
The roots of the culture of Israel developed long before modern Israel's independence in 1948, and traces back to ancient Israel ( 1000 BCE). It reflects Jewish culture, Jewish history in the diaspora, the ideology of the Zionist movement that de ...
*Israeli cuisine
Israeli cuisine ( he, המטבח הישראלי ) comprises both local dishes and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the Israel, State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, a ...
*Economy of Israel
The economy of Israel is a developed free-market economy. The prosperity of Israel's advanced economy allows the country to have a sophisticated welfare state, a powerful modern military said to possess a nuclear-weapons capability, modern inf ...
* List of restaurants in Israel
This is a list of restaurants in Israel. In 2007 there were about 4,400 food and beverage vendors in Israel. By 2012 about 8000 such business were reported. With the highest percentage of vegans, Israel has many vegan restaurants. Israel's main A ...
References
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{{Restaurants in Israel
Subway (restaurant)
Defunct restaurant chains in Israel