I really, REALLY wanted to like this Subway… It is right in the middle of downtown Napa. It is new and spacious. The décor is outstanding. Instead of just booths like most Subways, it has numerous comfortable seating options. What’s the problem? In a nutshell, this is a perfect example of weak inadequate management — where unmotivated low level employees are left to run the business while the owner or general manager is apparently out doing more important things. I have been to this Subway perhaps 10 or 12 times, and the quality has varied from«acceptable» to downright awful. I guess I am either an optimist or a glutton for punishment. Because of its convenient location, I just kept hoping they would eventually get their act together. My last visit there was the final straw. It was about 3 pm and well after the noon rush. The were perhaps 2 customers at one table and 4 employees just standing around. I was the only customer ordering. The floor was dirty and not a single table top was clean. I ordered a veggie patty sandwich with cheese, toasted. The usual Subway procedure is to microwave the refrigerator-cold patty first, then add it to the bread, and toast it all together with the cheese on top. Despite my gentle«Don’t you microwave the patty first?» request, the employee ignored me and simply put the cold patty on top of the bread, cheese on top of the cold patty, and put it all into the toaster for a lengthy time. What came out was a big oily mess. The cheese had boiled and melted and slid off the now lukewarm patty onto the paper. This didn’t bother her though. She scraped the melted cheese up and put it back on top of the now lukewarm patty — and left. Although I was the only customer ordering, another employee then came in to finish up my sandwich. He was perhaps the sloppiest Subway sandwich maker I have ever encountered. Instead of spreading out the ingredients along the length of the sandwich, he simply dropped a single blob of whatever I asked for onto the middle of the sandwich. My «sandwich» was a disproportionate, falling apart, oily mess with a tepid patty in it. My one star rating for this Subway is in comparison to other Subway restaurants — and as such I’ve set the bar pretty low. In my travels around the country, I would conservatively estimate that I have eaten at over 100 different Subways. I am admittedly cheap and also vegetarian. Especially when traveling, I find Subways to be a reasonable choice for a quick cheap meal. Unfortunately the quality can vary greatly from Subway to Subway. If you find yourself in Napa and are craving Subway, AVOID the downtown First Street Subway. Of the 5 Subways in Napa, my only recommendation — which I consider to be reasonably good but not outstanding — is the one located at the corner of Lincoln and Soscol next door to FedEx.
