The ‘Pub sub’ is a Southern cult classic. How Publix crafted a favorite beach sub
Standing in line for the deli at the North Myrtle Beach Publix on a Monday afternoon, a range of customers is waiting to create their own sandwich.
There is a group of guys who just finished a game of golf and needed to grab something quick to eat, a handful of landscapers looking for something cheap during their lunch break and a family picking up subs before their beach day.
The Publix sub — also known as a Pub sub — is one of the grocery chain’s top sellers. It is a customizable deli sandwich with in-house sliced Boar’s Head meats and cheeses, fresh-cut vegetables and bread baked at the grocery bakery. Customers can pick exactly what they want on it, even being able to pick out any deli meat they want.
Given Publix’s start in Florida, the Pub sub has become a quintessential beach food. In a place like Myrtle Beach, the deli gets crazy on a Saturday when the combination of weekend grocery shoppers and beachgoers cram into one line.
Employees can tell when someone ordering a sandwich is headed to the beach, said Cheryl Jett. She is the deli manager at the Coventry Marketplace Publix, 955 Wood Duck Dr., Myrtle Beach.
“You can tell by the attire they usually have. The dress code is beachy. And you can also tell by their their fun attitude,” Jett said. “Plus they have that beach look, you know, like no stress.”
Following market desires
George Jenkins first opened Publix in 1930 in Winter Haven, Florida. Since opening 95 years ago, the store has expanded outside of the Sunshine State and opened over 1,400 stores in seven other states. There are 70 in South Carolina, with seven in the greater Myrtle Beach area.
From the start, Jenkins tried to bring small luxuries into the store. He installed air conditioning and automatic sliding doors at Publix stores before they were the grocery store norm, said Jared Glover, the Publix media relations manager.
“He was really into, like innovation and trying to make the customer experience easier and pleasurable,” Glover said.
The first deli opened at the Tallahassee Publix in the 1960s and became popular across the chain by the end of the 1970s. Glover attributed tailgating culture as a main reason people started buying more pre-made deli food.
In the 1990s, the Atlanta store began experimenting with new food. They first with fried chicken, which quickly took off, Glover said. From there, the store decided to expand its deli and start selling sandwiches.
“Things really kicked off for us, the fried chicken, the chicken tenders, the dips and the deli really flourished during that time,” Glover said.
By the end of the 1990s, Publix sandwiches had expanded from Georgia and were being sold at stores across the company. The chicken tender sub, which has chopped up chicken tenders, has remained the most popular Pub sub for decades, Glover said.
“A life of its own”
Customers’ love for Publix knows no bounds. Especially on the Internet.
Pub sub lovers have made jokes, memes and homages to the deli sandwich for years online, creating a part of the brand that even Publix cannot control.
“The sub itself took on a life of its own,” Glover said. “It sort of became like, Pub sub T-shirts and sandals and key chains and all of the things.”
There is an account on X, formerly Twitter, titled “Are Publix Chicken Tender Subs On Sale?” From 2017 through February of this year, the account would share if the chicken tender sub was on sale every Wednesday when the weekly ad came out. On Etsy, there are a number of fan-made merchandise available for purchase, such as stickers that say “Pub Sub Club,” tasteful home decor and comical yet stylish t-shirts.
By creating a quality product at an affordable price, Publix created a cult-like fan base around the sub. It offers a similar experience to Subway, but with a better sandwich, said Erick Malpica. He is a Myrtle Beach area landscaper who stops by Publix at least once a week.
The Pub sub has taken off on TikTok as well, with people posting videos of themselves ordering and eating the sandwich. The videos have even reached Justin Centobene of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
He visited the North Myrtle Beach Publix on July 14 for a Pub sub after he heard about the hype online. Centobene, dressed in shorts and a tucked polo after playing golf all morning, said he planned to get the chicken tender sub because of its popularity.
“I gotta go with the trend,” Centobene said. “This is my first time here and I want to go all out.”
Another running joke among the Pub sub community is how long customers wait in line for the sandwich. A person’s love for the Pub sub can be tested by the amount of time they are willing to stand in line.
“Someone please help me understand why Publix puts its weakest soldiers on the front line here,” TikTok user @yesyesgirliepop wrote in a video, making light about how time-consuming waiting to order a sandwich is.
Other users online shared their experiences of sometimes waiting 40 minutes in line to grab a sandwich from the deli. When asked about this, Glover said customers have to understand that deli workers are not just making sandwiches.
“They’re probably the hardest soldiers, if you look at it holistically and you’re not, like, in the moment ordering,” Glover said. “They’re doing all these things fast, all while trying to, you know, meet the needs of the customer at the same time.”
Deli workers have to prep the line in the morning, fry chicken, put together meat and cheese platters and slice meat and cheese when needed — sometimes in the middle of a lunch rush. Jett, who has worked in the Publix deli for 15 years, said it is a fast-paced environment that involves constant pivoting.
“That’s why I like the job the most. It’s continually pivoting, changing. That’s the exciting part,” Jett said.
As the Pub sub has continued to prove its staying power in grocery stores across Southern states, Publix’s commitment to customer satisfaction will only help it grow.
“We try to meet the customer wherever they are, and if that means that they, you know, are requesting something special, we’ll do what we can to be able to make that happen,” Glover said.
