Why You Might Want To Be Wary Of Ordering Off-Menu Sandwiches At Jersey Mike's

If you've frequented Jersey Mike's Subs, or used its online ordering system, you might have run into the same issue as us: searching fruitlessly for the build-your-own menu option. At the famous sandwich chain, there's a list of set options available, ranging from classic cold cut subs to hot cheesesteaks. For a fast food sandwich shop, this is by design. Jersey Mike's hallmark is consistency, not necessarily improvisation.

Yes, you can customize the sandwiches offered on the menu, but with limits. You can modify a premade option by removing certain items, or by adding veggies, sauces, or extra meat or cheese. Of course, you can always choose to stack up your sub and have it "Mike's Way" (here's what to expect if you order a sandwich "Mike's Way"). But, there's no option for adding meats or cheeses that are not already on the sandwich — there's no swapping roast beef for turkey, or adding ham to the turkey and provolone sub.

It's nice having pre-packaged, expertly crafted, corporate-approved recipe options. But sometimes, we know exactly the way we want our sandwich. So, can Jersey Mike's accommodate add-ons? Ordering off-menu isn't outright discouraged, but the system doesn't necessarily support it. There's no rulebook when it comes to custom sandwiches. While workers are trained to layer the Italian sandwich with an exact number of slices of each meat and cheese, your DIY sub isn't something they've been prepared for. All this means that your dreamed-up sandwich might not look — or taste — like you imagined.

As with most fast food chains, Jersey Mike's operates on precision — it's how the restaurant made it from local sandwich shop to global franchise. Employees are trained to slice meat directly onto a scale to ensure they're serving the exact corporate-approved portions for each sub size (Jersey Mike's offers minis, regulars, and giants). That consistency protects margins and prevents over-serving, but it also makes improvisation tricky. If you ask for a turkey and ham combo, for example, there's no preset weight for that pairing, so you could wind up with an unfortunately skimpy layer of one protein or an unsubstantial amount of both. 

While online ordering makes customization beyond removing ingredients or adding basic condiments near impossible, when placing an in-person order, most crews will do their best to accommodate. Note that staff don't necessarily dislike customization, but unusual orders tend to slow down the line and could lead to confusion or uneven results. So, proceed with caution and patience!

There are numerous mistakes people make when ordering at Jersey Mike's, and trying to build your own sub really comes down to luck. Sometimes you'll get a crew member who's game, other times you might end up with a sub that feels a little half-hearted.