Native to New York City, the origin story began with the wonderfully named Clementine Paddleford, who coined the word “Hero” in a food column for the New York Herald Tribune in 1936, since the sandwich was so large, “You’d have to be a Hero to finish one.”
For New Yorker’s past and present, the term has been widely used when you are craving a Hero from that authentic corner store Bodega. It was a huge part of my childhood, going anytime of the day or night to a 24hr Bodega to get your sub fix. Not only were the sandwiches enormous, they were out of this world.