SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · IOWA
Firehouse Subs franchise in Iowa: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Firehouse Subs in Iowa have taken 9 SBA loans since 1991 (average $308,522)— too few resolved loans in-state to publish a local failure rate (we require a resolved cohort, never extrapolate), so the brand's national rate of 11.1% is the better guide. Its latest FDD Item 20 state table reports 5 franchised outlets in Iowa (fiscal 2017) — about 0.15 per 100k residents.
Loans in IA
9
Resolved
8
Local charge-off
thin
National charge-off
11.1%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = IA. 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 of 30 loans.
Businesses in this industry
5,253
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
162.1
national 179.9
Versus the country
-10%
thinner
Every business in Firehouse Subs's industry operating in Iowa — 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
$410
Iowa, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$537
same industry, all states
Versus the country
-24%
cheaper to staff
What Firehouse Subs's industry actually pays workers in Iowa, 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 | 6 | 0 |
| 2016 | 10 | 0 |
| 2017 | 5 | 5 |
| System | Loans in IA | Local charge-off | Units in IA |
|---|---|---|---|
| PIZZA RANCH | 78 | 10.0% | 65 |
| Domino's Pizza | 29 | 0.0% | — |
| Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop | 25 | 30.0% | — |
| Quiznos | 24 | 37.5% | — |
| Culver's | 22 | 0.0% | — |
| TACO JOHN'S | 17 | 6.3% | 50 |
| SCOOTER'S COFFEE | 16 | thin | 93 |
| Cold Stone Creamery | 14 | 53.8% | — |
| Jimmy John's | 11 | thin | — |
| Little Caesars | 11 | thin | — |
| GODFATHER'S PIZZA | 9 | thin | — |
| Little Ceasar'S Pizza | 9 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Firehouse Subs compares to the systems a buyer in Iowa 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.