The sign asked, “CAN YOU HELP ME?” in bold red type. The anonymous author said the Fremont Ave. N. Marketime’s Italian Sub was the “most 🔥 sandwich” they had ever had and that it disappeared when the deli was renovated in 2025. Readers were urged to visit the market, ask for management, and politely request the sub’s return.
“Trust me, it’s worth it,” the flyer promised.
The plea did not just stay on the poles around Marketime. A photo of the flyer landed on the r/Seattle Reddit forum, where it drew hundreds of upvotes and a sprawling comment thread of sandwich lovers swapping deli recommendations, debating whether the thing is technically a sub or a hoagie, and cheering the anonymous author on.
Back home in Fremont, the campaign found a critic. Someone took a marker to one copy of the flyer, scrawling “get over it” across the bottom and “your happiness doesn’t count” over the sandwich photo, plus a jab renaming the store “Marketcrime.”
Rather than let the heckle stand, the flyer’s creator answered. A six-page long rebuttal hung next to it, addressing the marker comments one at a time. It reads less like a comeback than a small essay on kindness and community.
The sign’s creator, who spoke to Fremont Neighbor and asked not to be named, saw the whole medium as worth defending. “I think flyers can encourage a sense of local community and can also work as grassroots communication in an increasingly screen-oriented world,” they said. “I personally love seeing flyers that alert me to goings-on in my neighborhood and I wish there were more.”
As it happens, the pole is on their side. Postering on city utility and light poles is legal in Seattle, allowed under rules the city adopted after a 2002 court ruling. Posters need no permit, can hang up to seven feet off the ground, and are meant to come down within 30 days or after the event they advertise.
By the time Fremont Neighbor went back to photograph the rebuttal, it had been torn down. (Flyers don’t always last long on Fremont’s poles.) Its creator shared a photo and the full text, which you can read here.
Spotted something wild in Fremont? We want to see it. Send your photos and tips to editor@fremontneighbor.com and your find might show up in a future edition of Fremont in the Wild.
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