SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · VIRGINIA
Firehouse Subs franchise in Virginia: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Firehouse Subs in Virginia have taken 31 SBA loans since 1991 (average $269,358), and of the 19 loans whose story has ended, 5.3% 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 57 franchised outlets in Virginia (fiscal 2017) — about 0.65 per 100k residents.
Loans in VA
31
Resolved
19
Local charge-off
5.3%
National charge-off
11.1%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = VA. 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
15,756
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
178.8
national 179.9
Versus the country
-1%
thinner
Every business in Firehouse Subs's industry operating in Virginia — 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
$517
Virginia, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$537
same industry, all states
Versus the country
-4%
cheaper to staff
What Firehouse Subs's industry actually pays workers in Virginia, 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 | 57 | — |
| 2016 | 57 | — |
| 2017 | 57 | — |
| System | Loans in VA | Local charge-off | Units in VA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Smoothie Cafe | 70 | 8.6% | 124 |
| Quiznos | 59 | 32.6% | — |
| Cold Stone Creamery | 44 | 21.9% | — |
| Jimmy John's | 31 | 12.0% | — |
| Dunkin Donuts/Baskin-Robbins Co-Brand | 27 | 6.3% | — |
| Cicis Pizza | 21 | 23.5% | — |
| Marco's Pizza | 21 | thin | — |
| Nothing Bundt Cakes | 18 | thin | — |
| Bruster'S | 17 | 0.0% | — |
| Domino's Pizza | 17 | 0.0% | — |
| DUCK DONUTS | 17 | thin | — |
| Zaxby's | 14 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Firehouse Subs compares to the systems a buyer in Virginia 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.