November 20, 2009
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 27
Eat fresh, eat kosher:
Subway the largest U.S. kosher restaurant chain
by SUE FISHKOFF the hundreds of halal Subways in England and the Arab SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) -- What’s the largest kosher world. But it’s more than anyone else is offering. restaurant chain? And it’s a creative solution for Jewish community cenMendy’s? Six branches, seven if you count the meat ters that want to offer kosher food but don’t want to and dairy counters at New York City’s Grand Central take the financial risk themselves. Some would rather Station. offer no food than violate kosher law. Dougie’s? Five branches in New York and New Jersey. “There are very few JCCs that run successful food Don’t even bring up Nathan’s Famous -- it stopped establishments,” says Eric Koehler, director of the JCC making kosher hot dogs altogether. of Northern Virginia, which has never provided food The dark-horse winner is Subway, the made-to-order services in its building. “In this economy, it doesn’t sandwich giant which opened its ninth kosher franchise make sense to have something that loses $20,000 to in late summer inside the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish $30,000 a year.” Community Center in North Miami Beach, FL. New That’s why the Mandel JCC in Cleveland rented space Subways opening in Indianapolis and Skokie, IL, (which to the country’s first kosher Subway in May 2006. The debuted last week) will center had make it 11 by the end of offered only the year. kosher dining Five more are planned options since it for next year. The closest opened in one to Omaha opened in 1986, but none 2007 in Overland Park, lasted very long. KS, a suburb of Kansas When Michael City. Located across the Hyman arrived street from the convenin 2004 as the tion center, on College center’s new and Lamar, Subway draws director, he lunchtime business from closed the nearby offices, but also building’s last does a brisk business with struggling cafe local rabbis and teachers without knowfor Lunch ’n Learns. ing whether he (Omahan Joe Shyken could replace it. even drove down there In stepped last year to bring back Ghazi Faddoul, enough deli and buns for Customers lined up at the Subway inside the Jewish Community Center in a Lebanese 150 sandwiches at a Beth Cleveland, Ohio, the only kosher one in the world when it opened in 2006. Christian who Courtesy Doctor’s Associates had opened 100 Israel Synagogue Sunday night dinner!) Subways in Cleveland and was willing to give kosher a Subway is not the only fast-food chain with kosher try with the clout of a global chain behind him. branches. Dunkin’ Donuts, the world’s largest coffee Ham and bacon were removed from the menu, the and baked goods chain, has 33 kosher franchises, most- “cheese” is made of soy, and the Seafood Sensation ly in New York, according to company spokesman sandwich is filled with imitation crab. Two microwaves Andrew Mastrangelo. They serve dairy breakfast sand- and toaster ovens ensure that fish and meat are kept sepwiches, but not full meals. arate, a consideration for more observant Jews. There is Subway, the second largest fast-food franchise in the a full-time mashgiach, or kosher supervisor, and the world, didn’t set out to be No. 1 in the kosher market. restaurant is closed on Shabbat. Staffers at company headquarters in Milford, CT, “It’s been wildly successful,” Hyman says. In June, the seemed bemused by the news. JCC of Greater Washington in Rockville, MD, picked “Really?” laughed Kevin Kane in the marketing up on Cleveland’s experience, opening a kosher Subway department. in a space formerly filled by a kosher Dunkin’ Donuts. Sure, 11 kosher stores pales in comparison to the Executive director Michael Feinstein says the center has 22,000 non-kosher Subways in the United States, or to been getting much more foot traffic since it opened,
particularly from Orthodox Jews. “There aren’t that many kosher restaurants in the D.C. area, so it’s nice for the community to have this option,” Feinstein says. “And it’s great for us because it gets people into our building who might not otherwise be there.” The Miami Beach JCC also looked to Cleveland’s example. The center’s director, Gary Bomzer, notes that the building already has an in-house kosher caterer, but no sit-down restaurant. “Bringing in a national chain gives us real credibility,” he explains. “A brand name like Subway provides more than a cup of coffee.” The remaining kosher Subways are freestanding stores: two in New York City, in Brooklyn and Queens, as well as one in Cedarhurst in the city’s Long Island suburbs; and one each in Los Angeles, Baltimore and Kansas City. The U.S. stores are the only kosher Subways. Israel opened the world’s first kosher Subway in 1992 but the operation, which reached 23 stores at its peak, shut down in 2004 after the original manager died. Subway spokesman Les Winograd says the company used its experience with halal, the Muslim standard, to learn how to deal with kashrut challenges such as sourcing specific meat and following strict dietary laws. The first halal Subway opened in Bahrain in 1984, followed by branches in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Tanzania, Zambia and other countries with large Muslim communities. England alone has nearly 60 halal branches. Kosher Subways are more difficult to keep open, Winograd says. Some open and shut, like one that lasted for about a year in Livingston, N.J., and a Wall Street branch that closed last winter when the economy collapsed. While Winograd receives lots of inquiries from potential franchise owners in other countries who are interested in the kosher option, none have panned out. “The population has not always been there to support the business,” he says. Subway serves meat, so a kosher store requires fulltime kosher supervision -- an extra expense added to ingredients that already cost more than their non-kosher equivalents. Maurice Lichy, owner of the new Miami JCC Subway, says he’s trying to keep his prices “competitive” and hopes to charge no more than $1.50 extra per sandwich. Will he offer a kosher $5 Footlong? Lichy hesitates. “No,” he says, “but I’ll try to manage a $6 Footlong. Probably tuna or turkey; not the corned beef.”
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