Say goodbye to the famous $5 footlong. With its recent price increase, Subway has rendered its iconic jingle obsolete. On Feb. 2, the fast-food chain announced on Twitter that the price of its classic footlongs will raise from $5 to $6 for the month of February. 

Many Subway customers are upset by the price increase. After facing backlash on Twitter, the fast-food chain explained that the price increase was due to rising costs.

“We launched the $5 footlong in 2007,” the fast food chain tweeted. “Since then our costs have gone up greatly, but we try to balance that with promotions.”

As the costs for the company have been rising, sales have also been steadily decreasing. Subway has also been the focus of multiple media scandals that have challenged its promotion of a healthy lifestyle.

The sandwich shop made headlines after a food blogger revealed that its bread contains azodicarbonamide, a chemical found in yoga mats. In November 2015, former Subway spokesperson Jared Fogle was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison on child pornography and sex crime charges.

Despite promptly removing azodicarbonamide from its bread and firing Fogle, Subway has not been able to salvage its decreasing reputation. Liberal Studies freshman Juhi Dalal believes that this month’s price increase will make their fiscal situation even worse.

“My dad took me to Subway all of the time growing up because he is vegetarian,” said Dalal. “I can recognize the smell of it when I’m just walking down the street. The $5 footlong is iconic for them. Everyone knows the $5 footlong song from the commercials. I just don’t think it is a good marketing move to mess with that.”

Dalal said that higher prices could making competing with other health food chains such as Chipotle and Panera even tougher for Subway.

“I don’t think [the price increase] will affect my decision to eat at Subway or not, because I never go to Subway anymore.,” Stern freshman Jill Xu said. “It’s probably still the best fast food option near campus, but if I have $6 to spend on lunch, I’m going to get noodles [from Xi’an Famous Foods] on St. Marks.”

Tisch freshman Cameron Penn said that although he has not eaten at Subway while at NYU, he still eats there when back home in California.

“$1 won’t stop me from eating there, but it will minimize it,” Penn said.

Time will only tell if increasing the price of their iconic footlongs will help Subway survive its competitive market.

“$6 footlong just doesn’t have the same ring to it,” Dalal said.

A version of this article appeared in the Feb. 16 print edition. Email Taylor Rogers at [email protected].