John's Pizza & Subs – Niagara Falls Boulevard

John's Pizza & Subs bills itself as "Home of the Original Chicken Finger Sub," and it has backup. Visit Buffalo's Brian Hayden traced the sandwich to John's in the Town of Tonawanda, where the crew started putting their breaded chicken tenders on sub rolls in the early 1980s; Chowhound tells the same story. Order it the way Hayden describes John's version: fingers tossed in hot sauce, blue cheese on the side.

The quirk is that the credit is still argued over. Jim's Steakout says it started making the sub around the same time, and, per Hayden, John's owners maintain they are the originators.

Step Out Buffalo lists this Niagara Falls Boulevard store as the original John's; there are also John's on Delaware Avenue in Tonawanda, Campbell Boulevard in Getzville and Grand Island Boulevard. Order at the counter, by phone, or online through the store's link on John's site. The site doesn't post hours, so call ahead.

Sources: johnspizzaandsubs.com ("Home of the Original Chicken Finger Sub", online ordering, social links), its locations page (address, phone, other stores) and about page, checked 2026-11-04; Step Out Buffalo, John's Pizza & Subs (1436 Niagara Falls Blvd, phone, website, original store; checked 2026-11-04); Brian Hayden, "Did Buffalo Invent the Chicken Finger Sub?", Visit Buffalo Niagara, 2020-06-21, updated 2023-11-03 (origin story, hot sauce and blue cheese, the Jim's Steakout claim); Devin Parr, "15 Iconic Foods And Drinks To Try In Buffalo, New York", Chowhound, 2026-01-18. Map pin from the US Census geocoder.