D. R. T.
Yelp
Before I begin this review, I admit...Capriotti's USED to be my favorite sandwich shop. BAR NONE. I've been one of their "CapAddicts" frequent diner club members for some time now. Not anymore. Not since Capriotti's made some crazy stupid changes to their menu offerings.
In the past, I could always count on Capriotti's to serve the freshest, high-quality ingredients (especially their in-house roasted turkey and roast beef) rather than those typically highly processed, chemically injected, lower-grade meats found at other sandwich shops. I always knew when I bit into a Capriotti's sandwich it would ALWAYS taste HOME-MADE and SPECIAL. Because it was.
Better than all of those qualities was the reasonable PRICE Capriotti's charged for their sandwiches. Sure, they were always slightly higher than Subway or other competitors, but that was because of their higher quality ingredients. But things recently have changed since Capriotti's gave their menu a make-over (adding some new items), and pricing themselves out of the market!
The other day, I stepped in a Capriotti's to order my favorite sandwich: a medium pulled turkey AND roast beef combo, with coleslaw and thousand island dressing. Yes, I always knew adding a few ounces of roast beef to the sandwich would increase the price a little. Even so, that specific sandwich would normally cost $9.75+/-. But it was worth it.
So, when the clerk quoted the price for the SAME sandwich this time, she asked for $21.50! WTF!? Of course, I shook my head in disbelief and walked out. No sandwich is worth that kind of money...ESPECIALLY in this economy!
Turns out, Capriotti's no longer offers their traditional, their home-cooked, delicious roast beef anymore. Instead, for whatever reason, they've gone chichi on their meat offerings and ONLY offer "Wagyu" beef, which only comes from select, coddled, cows. Sure, Wagyu may be tasty...but at $70/pound?! What was wrong with the wonderful beef Capriotti's USED to serve!?
Did Capriotti's customers have ANYTHING to say about this exorbitant menu item change? Did some focus group admit to WANTING to pay 200%+ MORE for their sandwiches just to taste 2 slices of some UBER beef? Well, I know I didn't. And frankly, I don't believe most customers are fawning over the idea of Wagyu beef, either. The other roast beef was fantastic just the way it was...because of its home-cooked goodness!
In summary, because I can no longer enjoy my favorite sandwich at Capriotti's without a 200%+/- markup (and, let's be honest, it's painfully honest that Capriotti's is just trying to increase their average check size during a lackluster economy), I've made the permanent decision to shop elsewhere for sandwiches in the future.
While I USED to be one of Capriotti's "CapAddicts," I now to choose to be a "Cap-a-PHOBE! lol. Too bad, Caps...you guys REALLY blew it.