Sept. 23, 2021

Update on Firehouse Subs. If you haven’t read the scathing review I left below then please read. After I wrote it I sent the review to Firehouse Subs head office. They directed it back to the store in St. Catharines that upset me. Someone from the store called today to apologize for the behaviour of their staff. She told me that is not how staff are trained to handle gluten free orders. She said the cheese does not contain gluten and did not know why her staff said it did. I watched them read the ingredients, so they probably didn’t understand what gluten was. She also told me their deli meats do not contain gluten. Their meatballs, breaded items, and deserts all contain gluten. I asked her why they would toast a bun on top of bread crumbs. She told me the staff is instructed to use tinfoil under gluten free buns so that doesn’t happen. She then asked for my address so she could send me a card for a free sub. I will take the free sub. At the end of the day I am still annoyed, I don’t really trust that their staff is informed and understand how to deal with customers like me, and a gluten free sub (I think 6″) is $14 plus. I will see what happens when I go back for the sub, but for now, I am recommending subway.

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4th Avenue W., St. Catharines, Ontario
I am one angry customer. The photo is of the sub I did not get to eat!

When I walked in, I was excited to see they had a gluten free bun. Yay, I can have a sub. I ordered a gluten free Club Sub. While watching them make it my friend noticed they had put the bun through their regular toaster and it was sitting directly on top of a pile of regular bread crumbs.

We explained to them they can’t do that with a gluten free bun as many of us are celiacs and doing that can make us very sick. They told me they don’t guarantee that any of their subs are gluten free. Okay I will get to that part later, back to the bun. They asked if I wanted them to toast another bun with tinfoil under it so there is less cross-contamination. I said there isn’t much point because you just told me you can’t guarantee that the rest of your ingredients are gluten free.

Now I am even more irritated. When I ordered the gluten free Club Sub they should have told me before they made it that they were not sure if their meat or cheese was gluten free. They argued that the sign says they can’t guarantee 100 percent gluten free. This was not the point. I would not have ordered the sub if I knew their ingredients may contain gluten. I lectured them on the importance of telling their gluten free customer that information right away, so they can make an informed decision. Someone who is gluten sensitive may go ahead and take the chance. Someone who is celiac, would cancel the order.

They then pulled out a sheet of paper that had the ingredients in their cheese. They looked at it and told me all of their cheeses contained gluten. I wasn’t sure about how accurate this info was because cheese rarely contains gluten, but it is possible. They did not pull out a sheet with ingredients for their meat.

This company needs to read all of its ingredients and have a list of toppings that are gluten free. They also need a way to toast their gluten free buns without cross-contamination.

Perhaps other locations are more aware and can provide that information. I would not trust that they know what they are talking about. I recommend not eating here until they get their shit together! This is the
first time I have used a swear word in my blog, but I feel it necessary!