ND0929115

Title: Oy Vey! Kosher Subways Bring Tsoris to Owners

Description: Despite launching to great fanfare five years ago, kosher Subway shops are no big gedillah, according to consumers.

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LOS ANGELES ? When it launched in 2006, the Subway sandwich shop in a largely Jewish neighborhood of Los Angeles was met with great enthusiasm, the Wall Street Journal reports.

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Trying to get a jumpstart on what they hoped signaled a popular trend in kosher eating, entrepreneurs teamed with the QSR chain to open more than a dozen kosher Subway restaurants across the country.

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However, with kosher laws requiring more expensive ingredients (and hence higher prices), and with the outlets therefore unable to participate in national promotions (?Five-Dollar Footlong? was replaced by an $8 and under deal? in Los Angeles), sales have suffered, and of the 15 kosher Subways that opened in the past five years, only five remain.

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The kosher restaurant franchisees face a number of challenges, with more expensive meat, a dearth of suppliers, and reduced operating hours (all are closed from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday in observance of the Sabbath).

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And when it comes to attracting customers, the higher prices that the Kosher outlets charge pose challenges as they try to compete against nearby kosher eateries.

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However, not all of the kosher franchisees have struggled. Maurice Lichy, owner of a kosher Subway in North Miami Beach, said his store has been profitable, even during the economic fallout.

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"I can't complain," he said, "We have a captive audience."

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Content Subject: Foodservice

Formatted Article Date: September 29, 2011

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