Subway's Footlongs Will Now Actually Be a Foot Long

In 2013, a group of angry customers sued the world’s biggest restaurant chain to get Subway to change it practices—either ensuring the sandwiches lived up to the 12-inch claims or to stop using the “Footlong” label altogether.

The lawsuit came after an Australian teenager posted an image of his sandwich on Facebook that was only 11 inches. The image garnered international media attention, and eventually, The New York Post published an article that called the brand out—four out of seven Footlongs purchased in New York measured only 11 or 11.5. Imagine the horror!

On February 25, Subway finally reached a settlement—the brand agreed to take steps over the next four years to ensure that its bread is reaching its full 12-inch potential. And yes, one of those steps will be requiring restaurants to use a measuring device for the bread.

The chain will also pay a whopping $520,000 in attorney fees, plus $500 each to the 10 people who headed up the lawsuit. As an attorney for the group that sued stated, “It was difficult to prove monetary damages, because everybody ate the evidence.”

Subway’s bread is made from measured frozen loaves that are thawed and stretched in the restaurant before baking, leaving room for some size variability. And considering the recent jump in cost of Subway’s famed Footlong sandwich promo from $5 to $6, you better believe that hordes of customers will arrive at their store with a ruler in hand to make sure they’re getting their money’s worth.