Sandwiches to pasta, then back again

On-campus sandwich shop, SubConnection, drops its little-advertised pasta bar menu after only a two-week debut. Photo by SIMRAH AHMAD, Staff Photographer

A temporary change to the SubConnection sandwich shop in Argyros Forum has left some patrons with unanswered questions. 

Last month, the made-to-order shop broke from its standard menu to serve a limited-time-only pasta bar. While a corporate representative from the company in charge of SubConnection highlighted its success, customers and even the sandwich shop’s employees have shared conflicting opinions about the sudden change.

Alexa Zuch, a senior computer science major, and a regular SubConnection customer, expressed her confusion about this unexpected switch. 

Zuch stated she first noticed the menu change on Feb. 28. She then explained how, after speaking with a SubConnection employee, she learned that pasta had been on the menu all week.

According to Zuch, this employee also told her the pasta bar was not popular among students and explained that the sandwich shop would soon be returning to its original menu as a result. 

SubConnection employee Mayra Luque, who worked during the menu change, observed the switch was unpopular among customers, stating, “Students didn’t like it.”

Zuch also expressed confusion about why the special menu was not better advertised.

She shared that the main reason she did not try the new menu was because she was unaware it was being offered. 

“I feel like if I had known that, I probably would have tried it at least,” Zuch said.

Zuch even called it “weird” that she had to enter SubConnection and see the pasta bar to learn about the menu change. By March 2, Zuch observed that pasta was no longer being served at SubConnection.

The limited-time-only pasta bar was not advertised around campus and did not appear in the weekly announcement emails sent out to the student body by Dean of Students Jerry Price. Zuch questioned why SubConnection had not advertised the menu change around campus. 

Sodexo Regional District Manager Rodney Reed explained that the limited menu’s unadvertised soft launch was a planned move by the company.

“We did not promote this temporary change as we wanted the news spread organically (word of mouth), and it did,” Reed said. 

Reed confirmed the temporary menu was available between Feb. 12 and Feb. 16, then again from Feb. 26 until Feb. 29. 

Zuch stated she only found out about the special menu on Wednesday, Feb. 28 — in its final 24 hours. In contrast to earlier statements by the sandwich shop’s employees, Reed also highlighted that the menu change “was very well-received.”

Reed explained the reason behind this temporary menu change. 

“While SubConnection has always been very popular, we wanted to offer the university something a little different,” Reed told The Panther. 

Reed said the company doesn’t have any current changes for the menu planned regarding whether or not pasta will be served again at Chapman.

For the near future, SubConnection customers on campus can expect the sandwich shop’s regular offerings.