A unique brand of Subway restaurant falling somewhere between cafe, coffee shop, sandwich store and restaurant, hit Tribe Square with a fully fledged grand opening today. Pass The Crust and Pita Pit, walk through the outdoor hallway of Tribe Square, and you will find the latest overpriced restaurant to your left. Before you get bitter about the fact that they don’t accept the College of William and Mary express yet, they are currently offering a great deal. The grand opening special that every student reading this should immediately go take advantage of: buy-one, get-one sandwiches today only.
While the Subway Cafe has chosen to tempt college students with something it knows we can’t refuse — free food — this offer may not get us past the original visit. The Subway Cafe, the first of its kind in Virginia, differs from other Subway restaurants by serving caffeinated beverages outside of the fountain drink family.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that the restaurant looks, smells and tastes like your average Subway. Once you get through the regular sandwich line and hit the cash register, you will notice the only significant difference: a bakery chest filled with cookies and pastries. Above the chest, accompanying the sandwich menus on the wall, sits a proud menu of iced beverages, tea, coffee and espresso to satisfy your caffeine cravings.
Subway Café serves Seattle’s Best Coffee, straying from its sandwich specialty. It’s alright, but it’s no Daily Grind. On my scale, the Grind, Wawa and Aromas still rank in the top three, but Subway Cafe’s caramel latte wasn’t half bad.
For those students still mourning the close of Quiznos at the beginning of the year, Subway Cafe comes as a welcome relief. Your sandwich craving can be satisfied once more. It’s too bad you are paying in real money for it this time instead of those “fake” Flex points we love to use.
While it may not be very different from your average Subway, the restaurant is spacious, clean and, for now, virtually hidden from the usual mass of students that haunts the Grind and Wawa. Take advantage of this new hiding spot while you can, before it becomes the next big thing on campus.