Subway Testing "Subway Cafés"

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Subway, known for foot-long sandwiches and a guy with huge pants, wants to be your new neighborhood hangout.

The Connecticut-based company is testing “Subway Cafés” in hopes that franchisees will open stores in more upscale locations. So far, there’s just one test location: A prime corner spot in Alexandria, Virginia.

The menu still includes sandwiches and wraps, but the café also sells hot and cold espresso drinks, baked goods and frozen blended beverages.

Sound familiar? These days, Seattle-based Starbucks seems like the company to beat when it comes to creating a hang-out atmosphere. In an interesting twist, the coffee served in Subway Cafés would come from Seattle’s Best, a Starbucks subsidiary.

Subway is just the latest fast food chain to take a stab at cafés. McDonalds also recently started testing the concept of replacing fiberglass tables with faux-leather chairs.

So, would you hang out at a Subway? Here’s an atmospheric description, courtesy of Nation’s Restaurant News:

(The) décor and signage for the café would be standardized, and would feature brick or wood paneled walls, more lounge-style seating with comfortable armchairs, and in some cases a fireplace. Lighting also would be different from standard Subway operations. (A spokesman) noted, however, that the design would remain flexible to allow for the development of the cafes in a variety of locations.

The folks at Nation’s Restaurant News also have a gallery of Subway Cafe photos.