Back on National Cookie Day in 2022, Subway created a limited run of footlong cookies for its Cookieway pop-up in Miami. They were gone in less than two hours.
So for 2023’s National Cookie Day on Monday, Miami, Fla.-based Subway is bringing Cookieway to stores in Chicago, Dallas, New York City and Miami, offering a free footlong chocolate chip cookie with the purchase of any footlong sub. It’s all a buildup to the national launch of the oversized cookie in January, when it will occupy a permanent spot on the chain’s menu in all U.S. locations.
“The overwhelming response we received from fans around the country last year let us know that we needed to make the footlong cookie a permanent addition to our menu,” said Paul Fabre, Subway’s senior VP, culinary and innovation, in a statement. “At Cookieway this year, our guests will get a sneak peek of an even better footlong cookie: thick, gooey, packed with chocolate chips and served warm—right out of the oven. It’s the perfect pairing with your favorite footlong sub and may even become your favorite footlong after the first bite.”
Last year’s Cookieway offered four overloaded footlong cookie variations topped with the likes of candies, chips, pretzels, chocolate icing and even bacon and pickles.
On Dec. 4, fans can score just a free footlong chocolate chip cookie, between the hours of 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the four participating locations, which will be listed on the brand’s website, Subway.com. Cookie lovers who can’t physically get to those stores can celebrate cookies in other ways.
Every cookie sold through December 31, 2023 will support the Subway Cares Foundation, which runs Subway’s Fresh Start Scholarships program, among other initiatives. And for a limited time, Subway MVP Rewards members can take advantage of a bonus reward and get a free cookie with the purchase of a six-inch or footlong sub.
Subway sells more freshly baked cookies than any other restaurant company in the United States, according to a spokesperson. While the footlong cookie is not yet available nationwide, five varieties of standard-size round cookies are on the menu, including Double Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, White Chip Macadamia Nut, Oatmeal Raisin and Raspberry Cheesecake.
Subway has been actively refreshing its menu over the last couple of years, introducing more premium ingredients, chef-curated sandwiches and meat slicers, part of an effort to make the chain more attractive to buyers. A sale to Roark Capital is in the works but delayed, reportedly under investigation by the FTC.
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