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ON A HEARTY ROLL

Former firefighters cheer as sandwich chain catches fire

By Molly Knight

Chris and Robin Sorensen spent years serving community members by extinguishing their fires. Now the brothers are serving them lunch. The Sorensens are the inspiration and perspiration behind Firehouse Subs, a firefighter-themed sandwich chain that is proving to be no turkey when it comes to national expansion.

The company, Jacksonville, Fla.-based Firehouse Restaurant Group, operates 231 units in 11 Southeastern states and says it plans to open 49 more in the region by year-end. Firehouse says it aims to have at least one store in every major American market by the end of 2008. “ They’re enjoying success because they’ve got a story to tell,” said Paul G. W. Fetscher, president of Long Beach, N.Y.-based Great American Brokerage, which specializes in restaurant site selection. (The firm has no business relationship with Firehouse.) “Since 9/11, firemen have been universally regarded as heroes. That won’t change anytime soon. They’re somewhat uniquely positioned.”

When the Sorensens opened their first quick-serve sub shop in Jacksonville in 1994, they weren’t looking to take over the market; they were simply looking for a way to keep busy following their retirement as firemen, says Don Fox, COO of Firehouse of America, the subsidiary that oversees the company’s franchise operations. The brothers had a hunch the public would respond well to hearty sandwiches served in stores that showcase firefighting memorabilia, Fox says, though they had no idea their concept would … well, catch fire.

“Chris and Robin had a real passion for food and cooking when they were firemen, and they were looking for something to do,” said Fox. “They weren’t really imagining it on a large scale.”

To set the concept apart from other sandwich chains, the Sorensens decided they would serve up firefighter-sized portions, slapping a half-pound of meat on the large subs, and a quarter-pound on the smaller ones. The Hook & Ladder sandwich contains smoked turkey breast and Virginia honey ham, smothered with Monterey Jack, and is served “fully involved” — meaning loaded with mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and a dill pickle. The N.Y. Steamer comes with corned-beef brisket, pastrami, provolone and all the fixings. And some 50 different types of hot sauce are available on the counter to set any mouth on fire.

Meats, cheeses and breads are steamed separately. “It’s a unique way of releasing the flavor,” said Fox. “We’re more expensive than Subway, but less than Quizno’s. We give people their money’s worth.”

That painstaking approach to preparation combined with the willingness to set pricing in perspective is an important strategy, according to Fetscher. “In this business you never build loyalty through price,” he said. “You can only build it through quality and service. The name itself conjures a hearty meal, and that’s a very good thing.”

After settling on the way the food should be prepared, the Sorensens turned their attention to decor. They went to their local firehouse and asked for photos and old equipment.

“These firemen all have photo archives, and they’re typically eager to get involved,” said Fox. “The store honors them by basically becoming a firehouse museum, plus it gives us a local connection, which is so important.”

Once the Sorensens realized they had a successful model, they decided to build a few more in the Jacksonville area, Fox says. But in 2000, when it came time to expand into other markets, they thought it would be too difficult to manage the chain by themselves. So they brought in franchisees like Charles Divita. He and his wife, Judy, already run two units in the Columbia, S.C., area, with another going up this month and two more to be built over the next few years.

Divita says he learned about the company when he was visiting his kids at Florida State University, in Tallahassee, six years ago. They took him to a local Firehouse Subs for lunch.

“I took a bite and I fell in love,” said Divita, who was at that point a professor of human resource development at Florida International University, in Miami. “It was absolutely the best thing I’d ever tasted. I decided I might like to open one when I retired.”

Divita did retire in 2002, whereupon he followed his impulse. He met the Sorensens and was immediately infected with their enthusiasm. “They’re two young firefighters who started the company by themselves and stand by their product,” said Divita. “They’re in love with their concept, and they’re not part of some bureaucracy. I could tell they would treat us franchisees well, and I wanted to get in on the ground floor.”

The Divitas opened their first store in August 2003. “We went to the local firehouse and introduced ourselves,” said Divita. “We asked for old equipment they were thinking of throwing away, and, luckily, they had all kinds of nozzles, hoses and axes to donate. They even gave us a fire hydrant.” The firemen also donated photos of themselves fighting practice fires, which Divita took to a local artist, who turned them into paintings for the walls.

Divita says he makes sure to introduce himself to each customer who walks through the door and to deliver their sandwiches personally to their tables. “We run the place like Cheers with no liquor,” he said. “We know our customers by name. We want them to know they’re important to us as human beings.”

He gives the firemen courtesy cards for free subs and is also involved with fund raising for the firehouse. The firemen return the favor. “Sometimes they’ll drive the truck over, and three or four guys will get out,” said Divita. “We just love that.”

The customers seem to be in love too. The average Firehouse Subs unit posted $625,000 in sales last year. But though the company plans to expand by 20 percent over the next six months, Fox calls the chain’s growth “slow and deliberate.”

“We don’t begin franchising until we get the first restaurant in the area up and running,” he said. “Then we use that store as a training facility. It’s a little slower than what our competitors do.”

Fox says the company looks for areas with a population of at least 20,000 and a minimum median household income of $35,000. Visibility is paramount, and so is ample parking. The typical store, which can go into an open-air center or remain freestanding, measures about 1,700 square feet. “We will go as low as 1,400 square feet, but only if the site is excellent and that’s what it takes to do business there,” said Fox. “But we really try to have 50 seats for the business we want to do. We can be competitive with places like Panera [Bread Company], and they’re much, much larger in terms of square footage. We’re very proud of that fact.”

The franchise offers a perfect post-retirement career for firemen, suggests Fetscher: “When these men retire, they wonder, ‘What do I do with the rest of my life?’ Now they can open a Firehouse Sub.”