Glatt-Kosher Subways a tough sell

Some years back the Subway sandwich chain looked to tap a new market by opening 15 Glatt Kosher stores, including one on Pico Boulevard. Today, the number is down to five (the L.A. location remains in business). The problems could have been predicted: Pricey ingredients (Kosher meat and poultry can be expensive), limited store hours (closed from Friday night to Saturday night for the Sabbath), and various operating hassles (a Jewish employee has to turn the ovens on and off). You guessed it: litigation. From the WSJ:

Although Subway allows the kosher shops to set higher prices for their sandwiches--kosher foot-longs can cost more than $9-- the parent company doesn't give them a break on royalty fees. Subway collects 12.5% of every store's weekly sales. More than 4% of that fee goes toward national advertising that the kosher franchisees say doesn't benefit them, because Subway doesn't advertise the kosher stores.

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Liron Shamsiav closed his kosher Subway in the New York borough of Queens in July because he says he lacked money to advertise. He also ran afoul of the rabbi supervisor because he didn't have enough money to buy his own napkins and relied on the ones Subway supplied, which featured non-kosher sandwiches. He says he also tried to get customized flyers and coupons from Subway but was denied. "It was always, 'No, no, no,'" Mr. Shamsiav says. And the "$5 footlong" promotion that powered Subway in the recession is largely out of reach.