SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · CALIFORNIA
Firehouse Subs franchise in California: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Firehouse Subs in California have taken 36 SBA loans since 1991 (average $322,830), and of the 20 loans whose story has ended, 25.0% 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 39 franchised outlets in California (fiscal 2017) — about 0.1 per 100k residents.
Loans in CA
36
Resolved
20
Local charge-off
25.0%
National charge-off
11.1%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = CA. 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
79,264
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
201
national 179.9
Versus the country
+12%
denser
Every business in Firehouse Subs's industry operating in California — 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
$643
California, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$537
same industry, all states
Versus the country
+20%
costlier to staff
What Firehouse Subs's industry actually pays workers in California, 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 | 22 | — |
| 2016 | 34 | — |
| 2017 | 39 | — |
| System | Loans in CA | Local charge-off | Units in CA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiznos | 346 | 27.4% | — |
| Cold Stone Creamery | 244 | 15.1% | — |
| Baskin-Robbins | 170 | 16.8% | — |
| Togo'S Eatery | 146 | 17.1% | — |
| Mountain Mike'S Pizza | 127 | 13.4% | — |
| Juice It Up | 97 | 27.3% | — |
| Round Table Pizza | 97 | 3.3% | — |
| Papa Murphy'S | 91 | 2.8% | — |
| Wienerschnitzel | 91 | 18.3% | — |
| Wetzel'S Pretzel | 80 | 9.4% | — |
| Wingstop | 74 | 6.7% | — |
| Yogurtland | 73 | 5.7% | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Firehouse Subs compares to the systems a buyer in California 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.