That time I got Fired from Subway Restaurant…

When I was 16, I was told (like most other 16-year olds), that I had to get a summer job. My parents said that the free-ride was over and it was time for me to support my extra spending habits when I wasn’t in school.

While most kids went out and became a camp counselor or a life guard, I decided I was going to take my summer and work at one of my favorite fast casual restaurants, Subway.

At the time, I was VERY proud of this job and took my role as a sandwich artist (I actually put that title on my resume) very seriously. So seriously, that it actually got me fired…

Let me explain.

Here I was, a teenager working at a Subway 6 days a week, 8 hours a day. I would open the store at 11 and close it down at night (this was before they served breakfast). Business at this particular Subway was slow and working alone with no customers can get a little boring. I decided it was time to get a little bit creative.

Now keep in mind, back then (this was like 2002), there were no toasting oven or specialty sandwiches at Subway. Everything was pretty simple and straight forward. I decided that I would take it upon myself to do some food testing and change the way some of the food was prepared and create my very own menu.

Here are just 4 of the MANY changes I made:

1) Created a Chicken Cordon Bleu sub: I took the grilled chicken breast, topped it with a slice of swiss cheese, ham and honey mustard. Seems simple, yet to this day it still isn’t on the menu. I think it made a cameo back in 2009, but I haven’t seen it since.

2) Created a Chicken Parmesan sub: Who doesn’t love this Italian classic. Since they didn’t have breaded chicken at the time, I would roll the grilled chicken breast in bread crumbs that I made from the caesar salad croutons and top it with the marinara sauce from the meatballs. I’d throw a slice of provolone on it and it was perfection!

3) Poached the chicken: Instead of taking the cold chicken breast and nuking it in the microwave (it gets really chewy), I would fill up a container of hot water (and take the temperature to ensure it was 165 degreeds and let the chicken poach and re-heat slowly in the water. This made for a tender, moist chicken breast that kept the customers coming back!

4) Stated toasting subs: Before Subway ever brought in the toaster oven, I’d stick subs the I thought should be warm back in the bread oven (probably not the smartest move) and toast it till it was crispy.

In hindsight, I probably could have burned the restaurant down and for that, I am sorry.

Now in my defense, that summer the lines were out the door. Business more than doubled and people came from all over town to my Subway because of the way I maintained the store and all the different specialties I was offering. In the end, a customer came in one day when I wasn’t working and asked for my famous chicken parmesan sub toasted and my gig was up.

The owners yelled at me and my Mom and said I was too bossy and tried to change too much.

Honestly, looking back, I understand why the owner was mad and why I was let go. Part of the beauty of a restaurant like Subway is it is consistency everywhere you go.

The experience was invaluable because it gave me strong insight into who I was. I now know I would have a very difficult time working in a big corporation with rigid guidelines and rules. I’m never satisfied with the standard and I’m always going to ask questions, push the limits and want try new things.

Oh and by the way, I don’t hold ANY grudges against Subway. It’s still my go-to spot for a delicious, consistent sandwiches! 🙂