Unlike the tragic loss of something like KFC potato wedges, sometimes fast food chains get rid of menu items and it takes a while for everyone to notice, as in the case of McDonald’s Egg White Delight. Some companies choose not to make an official announcement regarding those discontinuations—probably so they don’t have to face the customers they’re disappointing—and it looks like Subway has quietly axed one of its longtime protein options in just that manner. The sandwich chain no longer offers oven roasted chicken breast, and people are only finding out now, months later.
Tracking the loss of Subway’s oven roasted chicken breast
I’m not talking about the grilled chicken strips used in the popular Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki and Buffalo Chicken sandwiches, but rather the chicken breast patty. I used to order this protein way back in the day; they weren’t actual whole pieces of chicken breast, but rather a spongy, emulsified chicken patty with grill marks. They were a weird joy of mine.
Mashed reported a few weeks back on the rumors that Subway’s Italian herb and cheese bread was being discontinued (it’s not; there were just temporary supply chain issues), and buried in that information was a link to a Reddit thread in which users disclosed that the oven roasted chicken breast was 86'd. The user who posted that info claims to work at a Subway location in California, and apparently the discontinuation happened months ago.
I poked around online menus for Subway locations across the United States, and from this research I can confirm that the oven roasted chicken breast is no longer offered at any of them, though the ingredient description still lives on Subway’s website. I also called multiple Subway locations near me, each of which confirmed that the oven roasted chicken breast has been discontinued. When I asked one employee how long the item had been gone, they estimated it had been about three months already.
Recently, users on Twitter have been starting to notice:
One user said, “Why did nobody tell me Subway discontinued the roasted chicken breast? FUCK.”
Another lamented the loss earlier this week, saying, “I want Subway, but they don’t have the oven roasted chicken breast anymore,” with a broken heart and a sad-faced emoji.
The oldest Reddit thread I could find about its possible disappearance dates to about one year ago, when a user started a thread titled, “Is Subway No longer selling Oven Roasted Chicken Breast Anymore?” One commenter responded, “Yes and no, it’s no longer a required item, so it’s up to the owner of the Subway if they will be selling it or not.” Since Subway is a franchise-based model, independent decisions on what to sell are indeed typically left to the operator.
The most recent thread inquiring about the loss of the oven roasted chicken breast is from just over a week ago, as another Reddit user claims it has disappeared from the Buffalo and Western New York area too. So it looks like people are only finding out about this little by little, with no official information from Subway.
Subway has yet to respond to our request for comment. If you’re a lifelong fan of Subway, it’s possible you already knew this, but it looks like the rest of the world has some catching up to do. Apparently nobody was going to tell us about the discontinuation of the oven roasted chicken breast, and it went out with a whisper.