Jacksonville-based Firehouse Restaurant Group Inc., parent of the nationwide Firehouse Subs fast-casual chain of more than 900 restaurants, is looking for a new headquarters.
The space should be large enough to accommodate company operations as it plans to add at least 1,000 more restaurants in the U.S. and internationally as part of a 10-year plan.
Firehouse Restaurant Group doesn’t intend to leave Northeast Florida.
Co-founder Robin Sorensen said the 20-year-old company needs more space, especially for parking, than what it now has at its 3400-8 Kori Road offices in Mandarin. It also leases space along Shad Road.
He said the new space would put all of the Firehouse Subs headquarters staff under one roof, “where we can continue to focus on our core business goals.”
Firehouse Subs needs up to 30,000 square feet of office space to accommodate its 102 existing employees and the estimated 25 more to be hired by the end of next year.
Sorensen said it also needs up to 210 parking spaces to accommodate the staff, franchise owners and employees in training, and for other visitors.
Firehouse wants to consolidate several functions into one larger location, including:
• Space for Training Academy visitors. Firehouse hosts a training class every other week and a Day of Discovery, for franchise interview candidates, every other week, although the discovery day is held off-site now.
• The Firehouse Subs Research and Development Test Kitchen, Quality Assurance and Supply Chain space, now operating at the Shad Road location.
• The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation and its staff of four full-time and two part-time employees. It has donated more than $14 million since 2005.
• The Mural Studio, where chief mural artist Joe Puskas and his team of full- and part-time artists create customized murals for every restaurant in the system.
• The Firehouse of America LLC franchise company, the Capital 94 LLC lending arm, the executive team, company-owned restaurant operations, corporate communications, financial services, field operations, franchise administration, franchise development, IT, marketing services, operations services, real estate services and security.
Sorensen said a location in Duval or surrounding counties would work, although he said a Class A Downtown skyscraper isn’t necessary. He said Class B-plus space or better would be the target.
“We want a great space to grow, in a safe location for our team. A tall building with our name on it doesn’t fit our culture, nor is it frugal, which is a core reason for our success,” he said.
He said the company prefers to lease but will consider ownership.
Firehouse can move in phases, starting in the fourth quarter with the goal of full occupancy by the end of 2016.
The company leases a combined 16,700 square feet among the Kori and Shad roads operations.
The main Kori Road operation began as a single office originally occupied by Firehouse Subs partner Stephen Joost in the mid-1990s. It has expanded to almost 14,300 square feet of space.
The company leases 2,400 square feet of space at 5220 Shad Road, Suite 405. That began in November 2011.
Firehouse’s real estate representative is Scott Henley of Global Corporate Services at Newmark Grubb Phoenix Realty Group.
Sorensen and his brother, Chris, are co-founders of the Firehouse Restaurant Group. They are the brothers featured in the Firehouse Subs TV and radio commercials.
Joost is a partner and Vincent Burchianti is CFO.
The radio commercials are voiced by the Sorensens and their father and are recorded in a studio in Chris Sorensen’s Jacksonville home. The brothers are former firefighters and their father was a fire captain.
Firehouse Subs consistently ranks No. 1 among fast-casual brands in the categories of food quality, taste and flavor, and service.
It projects 2015 sales of $665.6 million. Of its 906 units, 874 are owned by franchisees and 32 are company-owned.
It operates across 43 states and internationally in Puerto Rico. Expansion plans call for moves into the Northeast, West Coast, Canada and Mexico.
Last year it launched its Under 500 Calories menu of six subs and four chopped salads, which it considered the most significant menu addition in its history.
Its restaurants average an annual volume topping $731,000 a year.
Other facts: It expects to use more than 80 million sub rolls and more than 9 million pounds of turkey this year and is the largest user in the world of Datil peppers.
In keeping with the firehouse theme, its first item sold on the first day of business in 1994 was the Dalmation Dog, a hot dog that is no longer on the menu.
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