Why is it that all Fast food places are nothing but artery clogging, high fatty foods??? So here is my great idea.

Open up a fast food sandwich place that offers sandwiches, fresh fruit and vegitable cups with ranch dipping sauce. Don't you think that would work here in portland??? The sandwiches would all be homemade and made right when you order. There is no such thing as a healthy fast food place that offers sandwhiches. Im sure there are plenty of fast food addicts who want healthier choices but since they have no other alternative, they stick with the fatty hamburger.

Thats not a bad idea Timberfake. A healthy fast food place, I like the sandwich idea. And for dessert you could offer fresh smoothies.
Id like a strawberry bananna smoothie with extra flax seed in it.

"Open up a fast food sandwich place that offers sandwiches, fresh fruit and vegitable cups with ranch dipping sauce. Don't you think that would work here in portland??? The sandwiches would all be homemade and made right when you order. There is no such thing as a healthy fast food place that offers sandwhiches. Im sure there are plenty of fast food addicts who want healthier choices but since they have no other alternative, they stick with the fatty hamburger."

One major problem here is the time. One of the biggest allures of fast-food (especially drive-thrus) is speed ... and trust me, I speak from experience, whipping up fresh-made sandwiches is VERY labor intensive and for today's on-the-go now-now-now society, they won't wait, even for what is indeed a superior product and much healthier for you. The price point will also be higher, because a) the food items itself cost more (an average McDonald's runs next to nothing in food, dirt cheap) and b) the increased labor. Patrons see a better value, and a quicker meal, with a wrapped heart attack in a bun.

I would totally frequent such an establishment!

A great sandwich doesn't take any longer than a really bad burrito or grease burger. Never thought about it this way. Great idea!

I would add soups to the menu as well. Have a few bases one can choose from, with goodies that can be dropped in. Rotate some special ones and always offer a few time-tested ones regularly.

a great cup of soup, with a nice hunk of bread is an excellent pick me up at lunch time when it's dreary. And it's Oregon, so that resonates.

Oh, and here's another idea that goes along with this excellent one:

Caffeinated Orange Juice. Instead of pop and coffee, offer GO-J! The healthy breakfast pick me up that tastes good and packs a punch! Other juices work too, but Go-J just kicks ass as a name.

(I make this with no-doze fairly often, BTW! One pill in a tall glass of OJ and it's just excellent! Way better than a cup of coffee, particularly on warm days. I've no means to actually realize this idea, so you read it here first!)

Let's think of a name for the place, all sell our homes and strike it rich. (one can dream right?)

Can you imagine just how Portland this place would be with this crew working on it?

Re: Labor...

Ok, so operate in two modes and differentiate them on the menu, or only offer some items inside.

Say the branding has a bit of attitude, Portland style! Spunky.

You could end up with this:

"For those on the go, GO, GO!"

Put sandwiches here and the soups that are dead simple and classic. Pre-make some bits during non-peak times, whatever it takes to serve them up fairly quick. If Taco Bell can assemble a burrito, surely a sandwich can be done in similar fashion right?

The point being the fast menu is limited, but always quick.

Then we get, "Food Worth Parking for!"

These menu items are maybe heated sandwhiches, toasted, extra goodies, etc... Things that take more time, but still worthy of a drive thru experience. If somebody orders one of these, they are parking period, end of story.

That way, cars move through to payment at a steady rate, and leave depending on their priority. Short on time, but hungry? Stick to the fast menu.

Have some time, but maybe not quite so much as to warrant going inside. Great, you are gonna order stuff "Worth Parking for"

Looking for a great lunch treat?

Come on inside! We've got cool music, people that treat you right, and some time to serve sandwiches with all the fixings.

Could rotate the fast items, or offer one fast special along with the regularly fast stuff too. Whatever.

Offer tue usual free wi fi, some atmosphere, etc... to encourage inside customers, who pay more and balance out the drive thru window issues.

DUDE....they call em "SUBWAY". For your meal deal you can now sub a bag o apples for the chips and milk instead of pop! Use mustard instead of mayo and you all set.

On a side note....what ever hapened to "MAYO" anyway?

There is no Drive Thru at a subway Darktemper, My fast food joint would have a drive thru and would serve more of your traditional sanwiches, not sub sandwiches.
Plus I would have a much better spokesperson than that annoying Jared guy. Instead of jared, I would have a Jarette. She would be a 6'4' blonde bombshell that will make any guys mouth water, along with the tasty sandwiches.

There is no Drive Thru at a subway Darktemper.

None???

Not that I'm aware of. Please do tell if you've seen some Trixter!

It's been a while since I've been out there, but I think there's a Subway w/ a drive through near Division St. and Hogan Dr. in Gresham. If not there, somewhere in Gresham.

Arbys has the Market fresh sandwiches, which taste really homemade to me. Im not sure if they still carry them today, but They did a few years back. It was actually a nice alternative to the Roast Beef sandwiches with all the goopy cheese sauce, and I don't even want to think what that Cheese sauce is made out of. ICK!

Wendy's had an excellent fruit bowl not too long ago but was discontinued because of low customer demand AND an inconsistent supply of good tasting fruit.

As an oft-Subway customer, I get tired of the lines and the having to specify everything you want.

Arby's does have good variety of stuff, and most lately, the new wraps, but they are a good deal higher in price. They don't have fruit offerening though.

McDonalds has a sliced apple with yogurt offering.

A fast-health-food place would appeal to me, but don't ask me to invest my money in one!

Subway on 164th st in Vancouver gots a drive through. But you cant get a clubhouse sandwich and fries now can ya!

Aaaaah you beat me to it Darktemper!!

Okay--it's on 164th and Tech Centre Drive.

(Although, suffuce it to say there really *isn't* much Tech at the "Tech Centre" today save for the name!! ;o)

There are places like this in Vancouver BC, but Americans WANT QUICK. Great Idea but would be a tough sell, because even pre packaging the fruits and veggies, people want that sandwich ready by the time they get to the drive up window.

On a satisfaction level, compare prices to two Subway 6 inchers, or Two value meals. Pretty close. I never hit Fast Food, as I am too cheap and mostly broke, but When I had to, I would usually order Two or three whoppers No onions, two large fries and an iced tea sometimes or Arbys 5 for 5 and I can eat them all. I try to hit the indie sub shops when I could but Subway does a satisfying sandwich, whereas quizno's is an overpriced dissapointment. I am one of those guys who Buffets don't suspect because at 5'8" and 7/16ths and a hefty 160 I look harmless. I get my moneys worth and probably at least two others as well. I am ashamed of my gluttony at these places so I try to avoid them. We need activists for the overweight to burn down all of the MICKEY D's just for the fact that you could never get a hamburger with mayo there. only that special sauce stuff, and if you ordered a burger with no onions it slowed everything up like that commercial where the guy pays with cash

EAT FRESH! EAT FRESH! EAT FRESH!

I'm sorry, where were we?

For years, I have favoured Pogy's, myself........

DT, even though Motozak clarified it, I think you mean (SE) 164th Ave. 164th St. seems to be several unconnected roads in the country.

......it's the one East of Cascade Park, You know "YuppyVille", over by were HP used to be! Geeez!

Indeed!!

In fact, that area wasn't always known as "Tech Centre".........for years (pre-HP, during the reign of Tektronix) it used to be called Jack Murdock Park.

You'd rarely (if ever) hear the area referred to as that nowdays, but I think it *may* still be referred to as that officially by city documentation. (not certain of that.)

Note: if you abbreviate Jack Murdock Park you get JMP, which is the mnemonic for "Jump [to]" in the ASM (Motorola Assembly) computer language. It BASICally is the same thing as the GOTO command in BASIC [heeheee]. Hmmmmm...........

And, dontcha know I am old enough to remember when about 90% of the developed land along 164th between Mill Plain and 39th was farmland? Hell, I can even remember when "Old 39th Street" actually went through onto 164th!!

Here's another bit: The property where the eastern half of Target (and I believe the Cinular Wireless store next to Starbuck's) stands once had a single, dilapitaded house upon it, and a collection of at least 150 lawnmowers--and I am not making this up--in the 1/4 acre backyard. You could see it along Mill Plain as you'd be driving out there. We used to call the guy who lived there [and I believe finally died there] "Lawnmower Man". We knew him and he *was* just a bit freaky...........