Why Jersey Mike's Doesn't Have Meatball Subs On Its Menu

Jersey Mike's decades-long success story doesn't show any signs of stopping. Seventy years after the first shop opened in 1956 in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, it made its July 2026 trading debut on the New York Stock Exchange. Ahead of the event, it reported a 13% overall sales increase in 2025 and a 50% same-store sales boost from 2020 to 2025 (per Yahoo! Finance). Another sign of its popularity is the Reddit consensus that it's the absolute best sub sandwich chain. At the same time, some people on the platform have talked about missing its meatball sub, which was discontinued somewhere around 2020.

The sandwich was made with all-beef meatballs in tomato sauce, topped with a little grated parmesan and Romano cheese and sliced provolone, all served on a long roll. One Reddit user who worked at Jersey Mike's said it "was not very good." Another wrote that it "just didn't sell enough," with other posters agreeing.

According to another Redditor, the company thought the sandwich didn't align with the brand's emphasis on freshness. "[It sat] in a countertop warmer all day [and took up] a lot of working space." The user also explained that it disrupted the workflow because the grill person had to pause all their other cooking so food didn't burn while they were making the sandwich.

A Jersey Mike's manager said on Reddit in 2025 that people still often ask for the meatball sub, and some who miss it are passionate about it. "We have at least five people a day walk in and try to order meatballs and then turn around to walk out," they wrote. Devotees have even gone so far as to start Change.org petitions, with no fewer than three different ones as of July 2026 calling on the chain to bring it back.

Unfortunately for fans, so far, there's no sign that Jersey Mike's has been swayed. At the time of writing, the only hot subs the chain offers are three cheesesteaks and six chicken cheesesteaks. Among them is Mike's Famous Philly with beef, grilled onions, peppers, and white American cheese, the second favorite in our sandwich ranking for the chain behind the Club Sub.