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Subway’s $5 Footlong began as one franchisee’s fix for slow weekends at two shops inside a Miami hospital. It went national in 2008, made $3.8 billion in a year, and was dropped in 2018. Most of the items below left more quietly. Each was checked against Subway’s own U.S. nutrition list from October 2026, its menu of record.
LIST OF DISCONTINUED SUBWAY MENU ITEMS
These Subway items are no longer on the U.S. menu. Several more that appear on other lists are still sold or back; they are at the end.
| Subway item | First sold | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 4-inch Round Sandwich | 1992 | Gone in the early 2000s |
| Gyro | Early 1990s | Short run; dates unclear |
| Chicken Pizziola | By 2008 | Last advertised around 2013 |
| $5 Footlong | 2008 nationally | Ended fall 2018 |
| Flatizza | 2014 | Gone by January 2015 |
| Ciabatta Collection | June 2019 | Ended Sept. 4, 2019 |
| Halo Top shakes | July 22, 2019 | Test ended Sept. 4, 2019 |
| Pit-Smoked Brisket | Sept. 5, 2019 | Limited time |
| Beyond Meatball Marinara | Sept. 2019 | Gone by 2020 |
| Seafood Sensation | Decades | Gone from U.S. menus by 2020 |
| Caramel Brownie Cookie | 2020 | Back 2021; gone |
| Oven-roasted chicken breast | Years | Dropped 2022 |
| Baked Lay’s Footlong Chip | March 14, 2023 | One day, one store |
| Footlong Sidekicks | Jan. 18, 2024 | Off the menu by 2026 |
| Doritos Footlong Nachos | April 2025 | Limited time |
THE 4-INCH ROUND SANDWICH
Discontinued: Early 2000s
Subway sold a small round sandwich from 1992 for 79 cents. “It’s pretty amazing to think you can get a delicious sandwich on fresh baked bread for only 79 cents,” the TV ad said, The Takeout reports. A Florida franchisee, John Giorgi, promoted it in a newspaper ad. Wendy’s had launched its 99-cent Super Value Menu three years earlier. The round lasted into the early 2000s, one of many discontinued fast food items.
GYRO SANDWICHES
Discontinued: Mid-1990s
Subway’s gyro had a problem: no vertical rotisserie. The meat came as “flat, frozen pre-cut pieces sent from the distributor, which were microwaved in-store,” two slices for a 6-inch, with tzatziki from a squeeze bottle, The Takeout reports. It sold briefly in the early to mid-1990s, possibly only in some regions. The closest return was 2015’s Mediterranean Collection, with feta and tzatziki on chicken or steak.
CHICKEN PIZZIOLA
Discontinued: Around 2013
The Chicken Pizziola put chicken, pepperoni, cheese and marinara on a sub, a pizza in sandwich form. Its start is disputed: one account says 2003, but in October 2008 it was being sold as a new $5 Footlong. Subway’s 2012 menu called it a “fresh take on Italian,” the Philadelphia Inquirer noted. It was last advertised as part of an “Italian Collection” around 2013.
FIVE-DOLLAR FOOTLONG
Discontinued: Fall 2018
The $5 Footlong started with Stuart Frankel, a franchisee who owned two shops at either end of Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital and saw sales sag on weekends. “I like round numbers,” he told BusinessWeek. Subway took the deal national in 2008, and in its first year it brought in $3.8 billion. Subway dropped it in the fall of 2018 after franchisees complained it was killing profits, The Takeout reported.
FLATIZZA
Discontinued: 2015
The Flatizza was a square 6-inch flatbread pizza, launched in early 2014 at two for $5, in cheese, pepperoni, spicy Italian and veggie. The name beat Flatini, Cristada and Crustini. “It’s flah-TEE-zah,” marketing chief Tony Pace told the Associated Press, then said it in a mock Italian accent and added, “Mwah!”
It was gone by January 2015. “The vast majority of our Subway customers continued to choose our delicious subs and salads, rather than Flatizza,” a Subway social media reply said, The Daily Meal reports. Pizza Hut has dropped plenty of its own pies, and Burger King its own experiments.
CIABATTA COLLECTION
Discontinued: September 2019
The Ciabatta Collection ran from June 2019 through September 4, 2019, not 2020, QSR Web reported. It had Italian and Chicken Pesto sandwiches with fresh mozzarella, Garlic Steak & Provolone, and a Caprese. “The ciabatta bread is an upgrade, but the sandwiches themselves don’t fulfill its promise,” Kate Bernot wrote in The Takeout.
HALO TOP MILKSHAKES
Discontinued: September 2019
Halo Top milkshakes were a test at nearly 1,000 Subway stores in six markets, from Colorado Springs to West Palm Beach, from July 22 through September 4, 2019, about six and a half weeks, QSR Web reported. They used low-calorie Halo Top ice cream. Chick-fil-A’s Autumn Spice Milkshake had a similarly short life.
PIT-SMOKED BRISKET
Discontinued: Limited time
Subway’s Naturally Pit-Smoked Brisket arrived nationwide on September 5, 2019, with brisket “naturally slow-smoked for at least 13 hours,” the launch release said. Subway tested it in Austin in disguise: “Subway disguised themselves as Monty’s Smokehouse and placed the new sandwich in front of pit-smoke devotees.” It is not on the October 2026 menu.
BEYOND MEAT MEATBALL MARINARA
Discontinued: By 2020
The Beyond Meatball Marinara used plant-based meatballs from Beyond Meat and launched in September 2019 at 685 locations in the U.S. and Canada, The Fast Food Post reported. By 2020, fans were already mourning it. KFC tried Beyond Fried Chicken in the same wave.
SEAFOOD SENSATION
Discontinued: By 2020
The Seafood Sensation was imitation crab and mayo on a sub, on Subway menus for years. “It was still on the U.S. menu in 2019, but in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it disappeared, and it didn’t come back,” Tasting Table reports; another outlet dates the end to 2018. As of October 2026, tuna is the only seafood sub on the U.S. menu.
CARAMEL BROWNIE COOKIE
Discontinued: After 2021
The Caramel Brownie Cookie was new in late 2020; for National Cookie Day, Subway gave one free with a footlong from December 4 to 11. It did come back: Subway’s November 2021 release said it was “returning for a limited time only to menus nationwide,” a crispy cookie and chewy brownie with chocolate and caramel drizzle. It is not on the 2026 menu. Snickers fans had a stronger case for staying power.
OVEN-ROASTED CHICKEN BREAST
Discontinued: 2022
Subway quietly dropped its oven-roasted chicken breast patty in 2022, and customers only noticed months later. “The sandwich chain no longer offers oven roasted chicken breast, and people are only finding out now, months later,” The Takeout reported.
THE BAKED LAY’S FOOTLONG POTATO CHIP
Discontinued: One day, 2023
The Baked Lay’s Footlong was a single footlong potato chip, sold on one day, March 14, 2023, at one Subway in Frisco, Texas, Subway announced. It was free with a Subway Series footlong meal while supplies lasted, and only about 50 may have been made. PepsiCo’s Scott Finlow praised “meals that are as delicious as they are memorable.”
FOOTLONG SIDEKICKS
Discontinued: By 2026
Footlong Sidekicks were footlong snacks, launched January 18, 2024: a Footlong Cookie, a Cinnabon Footlong Churro and an Auntie Anne’s Footlong Pretzel, Subway announced. The cookie began as a one-day stunt at a Miami pop-up in December 2022, where one version came topped with “salty potato chips, savory bacon crumbles and Subway’s brand-new dill pickles,” FOX6 reported. Subway sold more than 5 million footlong cookies, KSL reported. None of the Sidekicks is on the October 2026 menu.
DORITOS FOOTLONG NACHOS
Discontinued: Limited time, 2025
Doritos Footlong Nachos arrived on April 3, 2025, for $5, “available nationwide for a limited time while supplies last,” Subway said. They are not on the October 2026 menu. Doritos has its own list of short runs.
SUBWAY ITEMS THAT ARE STILL SOLD OR BACK
Several items on older discontinued lists, including ours, are on Subway’s October 2026 menu or back for a limited time. Subway pizza, soups, sliders, breakfast and the Artisan Flatbread are also still listed, some at participating locations only.
THE GREAT PROTEIN PURGE
In June 2020 Subway pulled roast beef and rotisserie-style chicken from most U.S. stores. “They got rid of them because they were the two most expensive proteins that we have on the menu,” an anonymous franchisee told Business Insider. One fan’s boyfriend, a Subway worker, “literally bought 15 POUNDS of discontinued rotisserie chicken,” Fox 32 reported.
All three came back. Rotisserie-style chicken and the Subway Club returned on July 13, 2021, and Subway welcomed back roast beef as “premium oven-roasted Choice Angus Roast Beef” that November. All three are on the October 2026 menu.
JALAPEÑO CHEDDAR BREAD
Jalapeño Cheddar Bread has come and gone since before 2003, returning in 2007, on January 1, 2014, and with the 2019 Southwest Chipotle Chicken Club. It is still on Subway’s October 2026 list at participating locations.
FRITOS CHICKEN ENCHILADA MELT
The Fritos Chicken Enchilada Melt was a 2014 limited sub: chicken in enchilada sauce with Fritos corn chips, $7.25 and 1,160 calories for a footlong, Ken Hoffman wrote. It is back. As the Fritos Chicken Enchilada Sub, now with rotisserie-style chicken, it returned nationwide on October 27, 2026, for a limited time, “a comeback that our fans and franchisees have been asking for,” Subway marketing chief Jeff Klein said in the announcement.
DISCONTINUED SUBWAY ITEMS FAQ
When did Subway discontinue the seafood sandwich?
Subway’s Seafood Sensation, imitation crab with mayo, disappeared from U.S. menus during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to Tasting Table, though another outlet dates it to 2018. Subway never announced the end. As of October 2026, tuna was the only seafood sub on the U.S. menu.
Did Subway get rid of rotisserie chicken?
Only for a while. Subway pulled rotisserie-style chicken and roast beef from most U.S. stores in June 2020. Rotisserie-style chicken came back on July 13, 2021, and roast beef that November. Both were on Subway’s October 2026 menu, and the returning Fritos Chicken Enchilada Sub uses rotisserie-style chicken.
Is Subway flatbread discontinued?
No. Subway’s 6-inch Artisan Flatbread was on its October 2026 U.S. nutrition list at all locations. In April 2024 Subway also added a lavash-style bread for wraps, its first new bread in three years. The Flatizza, a flatbread pizza sold in 2014, is the flatbread item that was discontinued.
Does Subway still have pizza?
Yes, at participating locations. Subway’s October 2026 menu lists 8-inch pizzas in cheese, bacon, meatball and pepperoni, plus a Pizza Sub. The square Flatizza of 2014 is gone, and Subway dropped it within a year after most customers kept choosing subs and salads instead.
SOURCES
- Subway, U.S. nutrition information, October 2026
- Subway, Fritos Chicken Enchilada Sub return, October 2026
- Subway, holiday menu refresh with roast beef and Caramel Brownie Cookie, November 16, 2021
- Subway, Baked Lay’s Footlong, March 2023, Footlong Sidekicks, January 2024, and Doritos Footlong Nachos, April 2025
- Associated Press via Sentinel Colorado, the Flatizza name, 2014
- BusinessWeek via NBC News, the $5 Footlong’s origin, 2009
- QSR Web on the Ciabatta Collection and Halo Top shakes, 2019
- The Takeout, discontinued Subway menu items
- Business Insider, roast beef and rotisserie chicken return, 2021
Updated November 2026: every item was checked against Subway’s October 2026 menu. An earlier version listed roast beef, rotisserie chicken, the Subway Club and Jalapeño Cheddar Bread as discontinued (all are sold), said the Fritos Chicken Enchilada Melt was unlikely to return (it came back in October 2026), and dated the Ciabatta Collection to 2020 (it ran in 2019).
