‘We take pride in surprising customers.’ Publix rolls out a new soft Pub Sub roll
Publix is embracing its softer side with the recent addition to its Pub Sub lineup.
A new soft white bread roll can serve as a pillow for your fillings — whether it’s the supermarket’s most popular sub, with chicken tenders, or old standbys like tuna or Boar’s Head ham and cheese.
The new soft white bread option made its debut in the deli counter section at Publix stores in its homestate Florida and seven other southeastern states in mid-February, joining regulars including the Italian 5 Grain, whole wheat and white rolls, and the various wraps.
Publix wouldn’t exactly say they were responding to some of the snarkier comments on a recent Reddit titled “Soft Bread at Publix? Yes!!!” — but one comment seemed representative of a particular point of view.
“This is a game changer for me,” wrote a Reddit user with the screen name BadCaseofClams. “I hate our regular sub rolls. They’re dry and crumbly and just not my thing. Got an Italian with this today. I could bite it without cutting the roof of my mouth and shooting bread shrapnel out in every direction. Already a win, but the light sweetness also tastes really nice with the salty Italian meats and tart toppings.”
Publix spokeswoman Nicole Krauss told the Miami Herald on Friday: “We’re always listening to our customers and following the latest trends. And as we continue to grow our signature sub offerings, the new soft sub roll is just another option for our customers to experience and enjoy.”
We tried the soft white roll with tuna and the week’s Publix cheese special — smoked gouda. Toasted, please. Like biting into a cloud but we festooned our Pub Sub with raw onions, lettuce and black olives for some texture and crunch. The new fresh-baked bread was sweet, almost like Hawaiian bread.
We kind of agree with Ben aka SashaIsMySpiritAnima on Reddit who posted, “It was soft and pillowy on the inside and nice and crispy without killing my mouth on the inside” and had to chuckle a bit at another who apparently doesn’t mind the coarser variety. “I kind of like the hard a-- bread at Publix. But will try the soft one to see if I like it more.”
The new soft white is baked in-store and will be available year-round at Publix.
“We take pride in surprising customers with new products and offerings alongside the favorites they’ve come to know and love,” Krauss said.
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Pub Sub history
The 95-year-old Lakeland-based supermarket chain shared some history of its deli subs in tandem with the release of its new soft sub roll.
▪ The first custom sub shop and sandwich menu board debuted at a Publix in Marietta, Georgia, in 1992.
▪ The most popular toppings are lettuce, tomato and onions.
▪ The best-selling Publix sub is the chicken tender sub.
▪ A holiday season limited-edition turkey cranberry sub debuted in 2010 and remains a popular recurrent.
This story was originally published February 15, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
