City Bites

[Skyline]

And I'd rank Someplace Else at the top of the list, having known Peggy since she quit the insurance industry to open it up back in 1976. They do their own baking and nobody has topped their Snickerdoodle cookies...

.....Or their prices. Good value for sandwiches and especially the cookies.

[RadicalModerate]

Ref. Post #62 (Rachel Ray) . . .
Combine it with Post #64 ("Someplace Else" and the cleverness involved in the naming as a response to "let's go someplace else" way back in the ancient years starting with 1)
and . . .

Guy Fieri . . . on his next visit to OKC . . . singing the classic:
"Sa-a--a-meee . . . how I love ya' . . . how I love ya' . . . my dear old Sammeeee . .."
and the only place in OKC to experience that sort of Sandwich Bliss approaching the bastions of Yummotown is . . .
[Someplace Else] . . .
[City Bites] . . .
The votes are not yet in.

[OSUMom]

My experience (somewhat limited) with JM's is that the one on Memorial between May and Penn is great, the one on NW Highway between MacArthur and Rockwell not so much so...

And I'd rank Someplace Else at the top of the list, having known Peggy since she quit the insurance industry to open it up back in 1976. They do their own baking and nobody has topped their Snickerdoodle cookies...

yummmmm snickerdoodles.........

[old okie]

i'm pretty sure that the first chelino's was on sw 36th (grand blvd) & walker in an old dairy queen... it's still operating there! -M

You are correct; saw the man himself in there one day and asked him. (And as aside, it's the best of his restaurants we think; go there at least once a week.)

As for City Bites, we noticed a pronounced decline in quality and service over a period of about two years; got so bad, that we just stopped going there.

A friend who was in the restaurant supply business once said about the evolution of restaurants: they open, using the best quality ingredients, having excellent service, and paying attention to all details; then, as the business becomes "established," they begin to use lesser-quality ingredients, let staff go, and ignore details. Customers will give them numerous "second chances," believing that the bad food and service they received was due to an "off" day. Eventually, the restaurant goes into decline and closes. Over the years, we've seen this scenario repeated over and over. I think City Bites would definitely qualify for this plan. Restaurants are like gardens: they go to 'seed' and 'weeds' quickly if the owners don't tend them all the time with care.

[FRISKY]

Pickles,
To make sure there is no misunderstanding, the place we were talking about in the last couple of posts was not the chain "Subway", it was a local store called Subway Deli. I guess we have gotten off the subject, City Bites.
C. T.

An old thread about OKC sandwich shops:
http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=24976

[Urban Pioneer]

Oh, I love Someplace Else.

I hate that they use I microwave to heat sandwiches. I hate the resulting soggy/moist bread. Take a note SP else! Buy a toaster oven! Great, awesome s'more you have though...

Regarding City Bites, still a great local alternative to the national chains IMO. Service does seem ambivalent and usually high school students. Have noted that rarely are the franchise owners/manager present, at least when I go.

[Jim Kyle]

I hate that they use I microwave to heat sandwiches. I hate the resulting soggy/moist bread. Take a note SP else! Buy a toaster oven! Great, awesome s'more you have though...

--snipped--

Have noted that rarely are the franchise owners/manager present, at least when I go.

At Someplace Else, the owners are almost always present. Next time you're there, tell Peggy (the tall blonde lady presiding at the register) that you'd prefer they use a toaster oven. She and her husband are the co-owners; he does the baking and she handles the cash. It's been that way for a bit more than 35 years...

[bluedogok]

Regarding City Bites, still a great local alternative to the national chains IMO. Service does seem ambivalent and usually high school students. Have noted that rarely are the franchise owners/manager present, at least when I go.

I remember when the owners (brothers) were still in the stores everyday, just another example of expanding too much and losing quality control.

[soonerguru]

At Someplace Else, the owners are almost always present. Next time you're there, tell Peggy (the tall blonde lady presiding at the register) that you'd prefer they use a toaster oven. She and her husband are the co-owners; he does the baking and she handles the cash. It's been that way for a bit more than 35 years...

She seems rather set in her ways. Love it or leave it. I do love the hoagies there but agree with UP's premise.

[OKCTalker]

City Bites is a terrible value, and I'm in one about once every week (old habits die hard). The sandwiches are stuffed with too much lettuce (other chains give an over-proportional amount of bread), and the baked potato with a small drink is $10.

The brothers clearly aren't giving the stores the time and attention that they need. I'd sure like to see them bring in a consultant, ramp everything up for a year, and sell the chain to another company which will turn it around. If this decline continues for much longer, it will get beyond their ability to turn the business around, and well-capitalized buyers won't have any interest.

[rcjunkie]

City Bites is a terrible value, and I'm in one about once every week (old habits die hard). The sandwiches are stuffed with too much lettuce (other chains give an over-proportional amount of bread), and the baked potato with a small drink is $10.

The brothers clearly aren't giving the stores the time and attention that they need. I'd sure like to see them bring in a consultant, ramp everything up for a year, and sell the chain to another company which will turn it around. If this decline continues for much longer, it will get beyond their ability to turn the business around, and well-capitalized buyers won't have any interest.

Maybe it's just me, but if I find something as bad as you claim City Bites is, I damn sure wouldn't keep going back. (must not it's not as bad as you state)

[Thunder]

I don't understand how a place can be a "terrible" value and this guy still continue to support the company weekly. Something doesn't add up here...

[OKCTalker]

READ guys. I said it was a terrible VALUE, and parenthetically added, "Old habits die hard." (It's three minutes from my office and I scoop most of the lettuce out of the sandwiches.)

I also think that Coach House is terrific, and despite the high prices is a great value. But I rarely go there.

Completely confused?

[rcjunkie]

READ guys. I said it was a terrible VALUE, and parenthetically added, "Old habits die hard." (It's three minutes from my office and I scoop most of the lettuce out of the sandwiches.)

I also think that Coach House is terrific, and despite the high prices is a great value. But I rarely go there.

Completely confused?

It's just me then, if was that bad, I wouldn't eat it if it was free and delivered.

[TheTravellers]

READ guys. I said it was a terrible VALUE, and parenthetically added, "Old habits die hard." (It's three minutes from my office and I scoop most of the lettuce out of the sandwiches.)

I also think that Coach House is terrific, and despite the high prices is a great value. But I rarely go there.

Completely confused?

Ha, funny. I understand completely and agree on both counts (it's 2-3 minutes from my office too). I still go to City Bites, just not as much, because I don't know any other sandwich place that makes a sandwich similar to the Garden Gobbler or some of their daily special sandwiches (SW Chicken Melt, Cajun Chicken something-or-the-other, etc.). Food's still good, just not enough of it for the price they charge nowadays. If anybody knows of such a place that makes those kinds of sandwiches for less than City Bites charges, please post. City Bites makes good snickerdoodles too, and I'm not close enough to Someplace Else to get snickerdoodles from them. :-D

[OKCTalker]

Today's lunch report: Panera Bread, "Pick Two" (Fuji Apple Chicken salad with a cup of chicken noodle and an apple) and a soft drink for $8.37. Compared with City Bites, it was healthier, more food, a better value and nicer atmosphere.

[JayhawkTransplant]

Healthier? I'm not sure what you normally get at City Bites, but sodium-wise and calorie-wise, it looks pretty comparable to City Bites.

[OKCNDN]

I remember about 5 years ago there was a tomato shortage and City Bites wasn't putting any in their sandwiches. Ever since that happened City Bites never seemed to be the same. City Bites was still charging the regular price but not putting any tomatoes in. It might have given the owners an idea of going with the cheaper ingredients to maximize profits.

[sacolton]

That wasn't a tomato shortage. That was a health concern over an outbreak of tomato salmonella. All the fast food and grocery stores were taking precautions. It was unavoidable, but a necessary measure to protect the consumers.

[TheTravellers]

City Bites on NW Expressway is closed. Sign's coming down today and the inside is all torn apart.

[OKCTalker]

That's not good. That leaves a pretty big geographic hole in their NW OKC coverage. If the lease wasn't being renewed (by either party), you'd think that they'd have the successor location announced and under construction.

[sacolton]

That's a shame. It was a great location. They must have some serious financial problems to cut a prime store like that. How about the one on May & 63rd? I think the one in Edmond is still open (Broadway).

[TheTravellers]

That's not good. That leaves a pretty big geographic hole in their NW OKC coverage. If the lease wasn't being renewed (by either party), you'd think that they'd have the successor location announced and under construction.

The sign on the inside of the door says (paraphrasing) "We're closed, sorry, thanks, visit our other locations at blahblahblah (mainly addresses on MacArthur, IIRC)", so I don't think they're moving, just closing. I don't think any of their other locations are closing/closed (yet).

[metro]

That's a shame. It was a great location. They must have some serious financial problems to cut a prime store like that. How about the one on May & 63rd? I think the one in Edmond is still open (Broadway).

Don't think any of their other locations have closed, and they have 10 or so in the metro left.

[MikeOKC]

I can tell you that the NW 59th & May location has shown signs of a slow death. Just by noticing the lunch traffic, their business has really dropped off. Chick-fil-A has hurt them, S&B Burger Joint is across the street, and while they're not deli restaurants I think they've hurt City Bites just by being so close. It's really kind of sad, but I have to blame the management as they just haven't been up to past standards.