• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, October 23, 2012

Panera was voted favorite sandwich/wrap chain in a restaurant preferences survey conducted by Market Force.

The survey of more than 7,600 U.S. consumers, conducted in August, found Jason’s Deli and McAlister’s Deli ranking second and third, followed by Firehouse Subs, Quiznos, Jimmy John’s, Arby’s and Subway.

Market Force first calculated favorites based on the total number of votes, then indexed them by factoring in numbers of locations. 

Subway received the largest number of votes among the 14 major national and regional sandwich/wrap chains in the survey, but Panera won on a votes-per-location basis.

Looking at specific attributes, survey respondents ranked Jason’s Deli #1 in food quality/taste, overall value and cleanliness. Jimmy John’s and Panera were ranked #1 for customer service and atmosphere, respectively.

By region, Panera came out on top in the Northeast, South and West, while Jason’s was #1 in the Midwest. 

Survey respondents represented a broad range of income levels, with half reporting household incomes of more than $50,000 a year. Respondents’ ages ranged from 19 to over 65. Approximately one-quarter were men and 75% were women, and 73% reported working full or part time. Half of the respondents have children at home and more than two-thirds are married.

Market Force’s site will show the survey’s full results, including charts, by Oct. 24.