The Subway $5 footlong is now the $15 footlong and customers want the old deal back

The days of Subway's $5 footlong are long, long gone. The same sandwich that put Subway on the map with its earworm of a jingle (we know you're humming it) can now cost as much as $15 or more.

People baffled and outraged by the cost of a 12-inch sandwich have filled social media with comments of disbelief. Among the remarks on Reddit alone:

"People too broke for $15 subs."

"I'd rather take my 15 dollars and get a local sandwich and its bigger and better."

"They forgot that their niche was okay food at a price anyone could handle."

"Are they trying to go out of business?"

Subway launched its iconic deal across the country in 2008, offering any 12-inch sandwich for just $5. It was initially only planned to last four weeks but was so popular and profitable, the chain extended the deal to seven weeks, according to a 2018 report by Vox . The promotion was wildly successful and continued for years as what many considered a permanent offering. Along the way, Subway modified the deal to apply to only certain subs and on certain days.

"The $5 footlong was a product of its time," Vox reported. "It was the poster sandwich for the recession: It was cheap. It was all-American. It was big enough that you could share it 'with a co-worker or a friend.' It was seen as relatively healthy, which is mostly to say it was not fried."

As the years passed and Americans grew to rely on the $5 footlong to fill their bellies when money was tight, competition grew fiercely along with the cost of pretty much everything and many franchisees were struggling to turn a profit.

One franchisee owner told The Washington Post in 2017 that it costs "well over $4" to make one footlong sub, factoring in roughly $2 for ingredients plus the cost of labor, electricity, gas, corporate royalties, credit card transaction fees and rent. He noted, "The numbers don't work for us. Ten years ago, they might have worked. But now they don't."

Subway apparently recognized the widespread challenges franchisees were facing, but reports vary on when exactly the $5 deal was pulled off menus nationwide. Some say the promotion was phased out in 2012 while others indicate it lasted until late 2014 or early 2015, after which Subway announced its footlongs would cost $6.

Over the past decade, Subway has resurrected the deal here and there -- but many franchisees don't participate and will not honor the $5 price, arguing the promo makes it impossible to turn a profit.