Author: _Douglas

The Mr. Sub located on East Broadway is the lone remaining unit in the Greater Vancouver Area and, sadly, is one of only two left in the Province of British Columbia (the other one is in Houston, BC, of all places). Because I’m a big...fan of this franchise, with fond memories of patronizing the location that used to exist in Chilliwack, I made it a point to stop by here following a movie at the Rio Theatre. It was a little out of the way (about a 25-minute walk) but was worth the trek, in my mind. And while I was elated to be FINALLY be here – after putting it off seemingly forever – it also made me kind of sad, too. First, it was the recognition that outside of the small unit in Houston, this was the only other Mr. Sub in BC. As I sat inside dining on my sub sandwich, I reflected back to a time when there were multiple locations in and around Vancouver, extending well out to the Province’s hinterlands. Sadly, many of those started going the way of the dodo in the late 90s and early 2000s. Now, the far inferior Subway is king with who knows how many units in Vancouver alone, never mind the whole Province. I think it’s a sad reflection of the times when something so bland and uninspired as Subway can be as popular as it is; but such is the power and reach of the large MNC at the expense of the home-grown and much smaller Canadian franchise in Mr. Sub. Second, seeing the state of this Mr. Sub – at least in terms of its exterior – got me thinking even more philosophically. This Mr. Sub is, as I said, a bit out of the way. It’s nestled into what I’ll call a foodie strip mall, which features ethnic cuisine and therefore makes the inclusion of Mr. Sub seem even more strange. The signage for this location is also, I think, a fine and fair representation of where Mr. Sub sits now, at least in this Province: While large and grandiose, the sign is not maintained. The “MR. SUB” lettering is extremely faded and even missing completely off some of the lettering. When I first saw this, I thought, “how apt. How apt for the state of this Canadian franchise in BC.” It is faded and fading . . . much to my personal chagrin. Depressing exterior aside, the interior of this unit was vintage Mr. Sub; that is to say, it appeared clean and well maintained. However, I guess that’s not too difficult to do if nobody is coming in through the doors. I sat in here for a good 30 minutes and nary a single customer came in. Anyway, after consulting the attractive and well laid out menu, I settled on the Montreal smoked meat sub sandwich. The lone worker was courteous and efficient, helping me to build my sub exactly the way I wanted it, replete with only the freshest ingredients. The sandwich was delicious and full of flavour, unlike that other sub place. The smoked meat complemented the other ingredients nicely, resulting in a beautiful gestalt. I do hope business at this Mr. Sub is better than what my experience hinted at. This Canadian-born chain is such a nice change of pace from the imported offerings across the border; they’re something different. And tasty. Very tasty. FOOD: 5/5 SERVICE: 4/5 VALUE: 5/5 RECOMMENDATION: Many of us are familiar with Subway and while they’re practically everywhere, their large population doesn’t necessarily equate to goodness. The offerings at Mr. Sub blow them out of the water at every turn. If you’re in Vancouver, do yourself a favour and check this location out. Or visit the prairie provinces where, thankfully, Mr. Sub is a (slightly) more common sight! PS: If you found this review helpful in any way please consider hitting the "helpful" button!​More