Sample data — illustrative, not for citation
SBA-eligible · directory code S0639 since 2017
Firehouse Subs
Other · independent · est. —
Firehouse Subs is a fast-casual sandwich chain known for hot specialty subs served with a firefighter-founded theme. A franchisee operates a counter-service sandwich shop serving lunch and dinner customers, with catering as an added revenue stream.
Firehouse Subs net unit count grew +6.4% from 2015–2025 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Not enough disclosure
Distress
No verified FDD extraction to judge from. Any figures shown are labelled sample data or independent federal records.
SBA loan defaults
11.1%
vs 14.8% avg across rated brands
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2023–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 850 | 944 | 1,037 | 1,204 | 1,242 | 1,281 |
| Opened | 107 | 105 | 97 | 59 | 61 | 63 |
| Transfers | 49 | 68 | 61 | 50 | 51 | 53 |
| Terminations | 13 | 10 | 38 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Outlets at end | 944 | 1,037 | 1,091 | 1,242 | 1,281 | 1,322 |
| Net change | +94 | +93 | +54 | +38 | +39 | +41 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 707 SBA-backed loans to Firehouse Subs franchisees since 2002. Of the 478 that have resolved, 11.1% were charged off (defaulted) rather than paid in full, versus 14.8% across 576 rated brands.
11.1%
53 of 478 resolved defaulted
65.9%
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
7.3%
default rate × loss severity
$451,655
what recent franchisees borrowed
64 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
70 vs 75
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO FIREHOUSE SUBS BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
Who finances it
Stearns Bank National Association
6.4% of this brand's loans
That lender charges off 11.8% of its loans to other franchise brands, vs 14.8% nationally.
Who buys it
69.2%
first-time franchise owners
The rest already owned at least one other franchise. Across the corpus, brands bought mostly by repeat operators charge off at roughly 10% versus 17% for brands sold mostly to newcomers.
Does experience help here?
+0.4pp
multi-unit vs single-unit owners
Owners of multiple units default at 11.2%; single-unit owners at 10.8%.
Computed from 707 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to Firehouse Subs franchisees joined to the brand's own FDD. Debt service assumes level amortization at the average disclosed term and rate. A lender's rate excludes its loans to this brand, so it reads the lender, not the brand.
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
To open (Item 7)
$165K–$962K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$20K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
6%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$60K
6% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$600K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for Firehouse Subs with an independent CPALabor record
US Dept. of Labor enforcement · franchisee-level · FY2005–present
Federal investigators have concluded 56 wage cases against operators of this system, recovering $40K in back wages for 181 workers, including 26 child-labor cases. Some of these cases are recent, not ancient history. These cases name franchisee-owned locations, not the franchisor itself.
Concluded cases
56
Back wages owed
$40K
Employees affected
181
Since 2020
24
26 of these cases involved child-labor violations, covering 138 minors across the system's franchised locations.
Read this carefully. The employers in these cases are individual Firehouse Subs franchisees — separately owned businesses operating under the brand name — not Firehouse Subs itself. The franchisor is not the respondent and in most cases is not a party. What the record shows is how this system's operators run their payrolls, which is worth knowing before you become one of them. Counts rise with system size and with age: a 20-year-old, 10,000-unit system will out-count a young one regardless of conduct. Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division concluded compliance actions, FY2005–present, most recent finding 2025.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
11-Unit Firehouse Subs Franchisee Files for Bankruptcy
news:QSR Magazine · 4mo ago
Firehouse Subs franchisee files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
news:Nation’s Restaurant News · 4mo ago
Utah-based Firehouse Subs franchisee files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
news:Restaurant Business · 4mo ago
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Firehouse Subs's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →