Five high school boys with the letters J-A-R-E-D on their chests and R-U-L-E-S on their backs held up the tentlike stonewashed denim shorts that Jared Fogle traded in for a smaller size more than 200 pounds ago and flexed their abs for the flashing digital cameras.
Fogle, the ubiquitous Subway spokesman who made a career out of eating himself thin, visited Beachwood in June for the opening of Subway at the J. Located inside the Jewish Community Center of Cleveland, it’s the first Subway store in North America to offer a completely kosher menu. It serves pareve soy cheese and swaps beef and turkey for ham in its lineup of subs, while adding corned beef, pastrami and shawarma to the menu. Every ingredient meets the standards of Cleveland Kosher, a local organization that helps members of the area Jewish community follow kosher dietary laws.
Gretchen Shapiro, of University Heights, who keeps kosher, ordered a Veggie Delite during the opening and raved about the Subway at the J concept.
“It’s definitely exciting,” she says. “It’s healthy and fast and kosher. I’ll eat here as often as I can.”
Adrienne Schaffer, also from University Heights, who doesn’t keep kosher but makes a point to eat healthful foods, also likes the idea.
“The bread doesn’t have milk and the sandwiches don’t have regular cheese, which is fattening,” Schaffer says. “It’s healthier and even vegans can eat here.”
Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, the store’s founding partner Ghazi Faddoul says he has fielded inquiries from Jewish centers across the country that want to bring kosher subs to their cities. Lucky for us, he did it here first. Mazel tov!
| Seen and Heard The brass hopper stuffed with applications taunts the crowd. The multicolored Wheel beckons, promising riches and momentary fame. An ear-rattling surge of screams erupts as the host ascends the stage and tells the crowd it’s time to play. More than 1,200 voices finish his sentence, bellowing their mantra: Wheel! Of! Fortune! The Wheelmobile — the traveling version of the game show — spun into Cleveland in June. More than 6,000 people lined up to attend one of the tryout sessions held at Cuyahoga Community College’s Eastern Campus gymnasium, all of them hoping to catch the eye of “Wheel” producers and be called up to the big show. The most devoted “Wheel” fan arrives at Tri-C around 7:30 a.m., languishing in the humidity until the first session at 3 p.m. In all, about 250 people are randomly selected to hop on stage, spin The Wheel and play an abbreviated game. Marty Lublin, the tryout version of host Pat Sajak, hops around with the energy of a cheerleader on speed and speaks with the infectious fervor of a Pentecostal minister. The crowd loves him, but not as much as they love The Wheel. A vertical version of the famed old dame, the traveling Wheel stands 6 feet tall and is labeled not with dollar figures but words such as “shirt,” “hat” and “surprise.” Approaching it, you’re reminded of a carnival game. But then you feel its pull, the palpable residue of so much hopeful energy. You can see yourself reflected in The Wheel’s surface. And as you reach out to the golden spokes to give it a spin, you find yourself muttering: “Big money, big money, big money…" “Wheel of Fortune” airs weeknights at 7 p.m. on NewsChannel 5 |
