SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · ARKANSAS
Firehouse Subs franchise in Arkansas: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Firehouse Subs in Arkansas have taken 14 SBA loans since 1991 (average $219,671), and of the 12 loans whose story has ended, 0.0% were charged off — versus 11.1% for Firehouse Subs nationally and 14.8% across all rateable franchise brands. Its latest FDD Item 20 state table reports 19 franchised outlets in Arkansas (fiscal 2017) — about 0.62 per 100k residents.
Loans in AR
14
Resolved
12
Local charge-off
0.0%
National charge-off
11.1%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = AR. Charge-off rate = charged-off ÷ (charged-off + paid-in-full); open loans excluded. A local rate is published only when the resolved cohort clears our floor.
Businesses in this industry
4,937
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
159.9
national 179.9
Versus the country
-11%
thinner
Every business in Firehouse Subs's industry operating in Arkansas — franchised and independent — from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (2023), against 2024 population estimates. Counter-intuitively, density is not a warning: across 198 brand-state cells in our loan data, the densest quartile charges off at 5.6% versus 18.1% in the thinnest. A crowded market is usually proven demand; an empty one is often empty for a reason.
Avg weekly wage, this industry
$421
Arkansas, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$537
same industry, all states
Versus the country
-22%
cheaper to staff
What Firehouse Subs's industry actually pays workers in Arkansas, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2025), employment-weighted across counties. This is a real cost signal independent of the FDD — a market can look demand-rich above and still carry a margin headwind here if local wages run hot for the sector.
| Fiscal year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 19 | — |
| 2016 | 19 | — |
| 2017 | 19 | — |
| System | Loans in AR | Local charge-off | Units in AR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domino's Pizza | 15 | 7.7% | — |
| Quiznos | 10 | thin | — |
| Western Sizzlin Steak House | 8 | thin | — |
| Jimmy John's | 7 | thin | — |
| Tropical Smoothie Cafe | 7 | thin | 32 |
| Cicis Pizza | 6 | thin | — |
| Daylight Donut Shop | 6 | thin | — |
| Smoothie King | 6 | thin | — |
| Buffalo Wild Wings (F/K/a Bw-3 (Buffalo Wings | 5 | thin | — |
| Church'S Fried Chicken | 5 | thin | — |
| Cold Stone Creamery | 5 | thin | — |
| Dunkin Donuts/Baskin-Robbins Co-Brand | 5 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Firehouse Subs compares to the systems a buyer in Arkansas would actually be choosing between. Local rates under 10 resolved loans are marked thin, not hidden.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Firehouse Subs's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.