Last sandwich standing

The Quiznos sandwich shop in El Cajon at Main Street and Magnolia Avenue closed down Saturday. The last San Diego area Quiznos standing is in Ramona at Main Street and Ramona Street.

Quiznos shops have been closing down nationwide for several years.

A search on google maps in San Diego County shows three closed Quiznos locations in Kearny Mesa, two in Escondido, and one each in downtown San Diego, Birdland, University City, Sorrento Valley, Miramar, Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Carmel Valley, and Chula Vista.

On Saturday Jeff Flynt and Henry Coleman came into the El Cajon Quiznos for lunch for the first time.

Flynt said, “I looked it up and I was like ‘oh cool they have a Quiznos.’ When I’m on the road I always try to find a Quiznos.” He and Coleman are plumbing contractors who travel around the county.

Flynt continued, “It’s my first time here and it’s closing, oh great. It seems like they’re all closing now. They had one in Escondido. It’s a Mexican restaurant now. Quiznos quality is good. They’re fast. The prices are relatively reasonable. It’s got to be a corporate thing.”

They both agreed the next best sandwich shop in the area is Antonelli’s Deli, further north on Magnolia, two blocks north of Greenfield Drive.

Other Quiznos customers said they’ll try to find Jersey Mike’s. There’s one at Broadway and Graves Ave. in El Cajon. None of the Quiznos customers I saw on Saturday said they would go to Subway after Quiznos closes.

El Cajon resident Martha Rose prefers the Subway down the street at Main and Sunshine. She didn’t care for Quiznos.

“There wasn’t enough room inside that Quiznos and you didn’t get your money’s worth. At Subway they listen to how I want my sandwich done and they put tons of vegetables and other ingredients on it. You can get a good deal with a footlong sub for five dollars,” she said.

Quiznos offers 4-inch, 8-inch, and 12-inch subs. Subway offers 6-inch and foot longs. Subway typically has some footlong options for $5. The biggest sub you can get at Quiznos for $5 is their daily 8-inch special. All of Antonelli’s footlong subs cost $12.85.

You can get a footlong Italian BMT at Subway for $7.99. It includes salami, pepperoni and ham. Quiznos’ 12-inch Classic Italian sub offer the same three meats plus capicola at the higher price of $9.25. Jersey Mike’s Original Italian offers the same four meats as Quiznos and adds prosciuttini. Their 7 ½ inch costs $8.85. The next size they offer is 15-inch, which costs $14.65.

In 2015 Forbes published “Is Quiznos Toast?” which said Quiznos “has waged a constant battle with its franchisees, many of whom accused the chain of selling rights to too many locations and demanding that franchisees buy supplies from the company at prices that made it impossible for them to succeed.” Quiznos filed for bankruptcy in 2014.

An employee at the El Cajon Quiznos said they were closing because the landlord is cancelling their lease and the insurance company next door will be expanding into their space. Rather than moving to a new location the owner said they are closing down for good.

The El Cajon employee said the Ramona location is the only one left and that it plans to close in December.

I called the Quiznos in Ramona and the owner’s wife answered. She said they have no plans to close down. “We’re here for good,” she said.