Firehouse Subs might be Restaurant Brands International’s youngest—and smallest—brand, relative to Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons, but it’s approaching whitespace with as much opportunity as any. At the company’s February 2024 investor day, there was talk of taking the 1994-founded sandwich chain 100 percent digital by placing kiosks into units across the system. There hasn’t been an update to that specific evolution since, yet there has been plenty of movement elsewhere. Much of it surrounding international prospects.
Firehouse in late May announced a deal with Foodplay to debut in Monterrey, Nuevo León, followed by additional openings, as it plots 100 Mexico restaurants over the next five years. Four months earlier, Firehouse unveiled it was headed to Australia, a reportedly $1.7 billion sandwich market, with the country’s largest multi-brand retail food franchisor in Retail Food Group (a company that owns chains like Gloria Jeans Coffees and Donut King). That news marked Firehouse’s entry into the Asia-Pacific region. And both came after an early 2025 note of Firehouse launching into Brazil with its most ambitious target of 500 restaurants in 10 years through a joint venture supported by RBI and Iuri Miranda, former CEO and board member of Zamp S.A., master franchisee of Burger King and Popeyes in Brazil.
The first Firehouse outside the U.S. and Canada opened just two years ago in Switzerland. Mexico, Albania, and UAE came in 2024. Following 2025’s aforementioned reveals, Firehouse today touts a blueprint to more than 765 international openings in the coming decade.
To put this runway in perspective, Firehouse in 2024 had 23 stores in the Latin America/Caribbean market. The largest sandwich competitor? More than 3,500.
In Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, there were three Firehouse units compared to roughly 5,000 for the top sandwich brand. Asia-Pacific (as noted, a work in progress) was zero to 4,800.
In total, Firehouse counted 26 international locations in 2024, growth of nine net. There were none in 2017.
RBI believes the international sandwich field represents a $75 billion market for Firehouse to chase.
But going back to the 2024 investor day, RBI said there was a clear path to accelerate net unit growth for Firehouse, domestic and overseas. The aspiration being to ramp up to 300 annual openings within five years and deliver “at least” 800 net new locations by 2028. RBI acquired Firehouse for $1 billion in December 2021 and took its average-unit volumes from roughly $900,000 to nearly $1 million in the first two years. It also laid the groundwork for development by finalizing area rep agreement buyouts and introducing incentive programs (more on this shortly).
It’s all part of a broader RBI goal to hike from about 31,000 restaurants at the end of 2023 to 40,000 by 2028, which would entail net unit expansion of about 1,800 new restaurants per year.
Internationally, RBI is targeting 1,400 net units per fiscal calendar (600 EMEA; 300 for APAC outside of China; 200 for Mexico and Brazil). The remaining will come in China through Popeyes, Burger King, and Tim Hortons. CFO Sami Siddiqui called this breakdown “the surface of our potential.” RBI’s home market of North America will represent about 400 net openings per, inclusive of “accelerating momentum at Firehouse.”
The unit count target for Firehouse specifically in the U.S. and Canada is 2,000 by 2028.
Some of that “momentum” returns to the opening point. Firehouse, while still working on its digital progression, has installed a “Next Gen Kitchen” into all new openings with faster equipment. It’s designed to reduce prep time and up quality, the company said.
Mainly, there’s been a multi-year initiative under brand president Mike Hancock, a former Tim Hortons COO who came over to the brand in April 2022 before elevating to president the following spring, to improve operating satisfaction via enhanced routines, processes, and training. RBI also invested in digital user experience to raise app scores. The chain’s 2024 digital sales mix was 40 percent—the highest of all RBI home markets (it was 20 percent before acquisition).
Firehouse’s early iteration of this updated kitchen debuted in Jacksonville, Florida, a couple of Julys ago. It features a freshly designed layout, with an updated steamer and toaster equipment. Again, both aimed at boosting service times and ensuring consistency. The kitchen upgrade was architected to work in any Firehouse build, from 1,200 to 2,000 square feet.
The sandwich arena, and the ambition
Here’s a look at some of the QSR sandwich market:
Year-end 2024, U.S.
Subway (estimate)
- Average-unit volume: $495,000
- Systemwide sales: $9.653 billion
- Locations: 19,502 (all franchised)
- Year-over-year change: –631
Jersey Mike’s
- Average-unit volume: $1.325 million
- Systemwide sales: $3.731 billion
- Locations: 2,997 (2,970 franchised, 27 company-run)
- Year-over-year change: 313
Jimmy John’s
- Average-unit volume: $977,000
- Systemwide sales: $2.599 billion
- Locations: 2,689 (2,647 franchised, 23 company-run)
- Year-over-year change: 45
Firehouse Subs
- Average-unit volume: $973,000
- Systemwide sales: $1.153 billion
- Locations: 1,233 (1,191 franchised, 42 company-run)
- Year-over-year change: 38
Firehouse is not alone in this reality, but getting digital mix to 40 percent was a significant adjustment. Back in 2012, dine-in accounted for 52.4 percent of the brand’s sales—a somewhat unique tilt in a category dominated by takeout. By 2023, it had fallen under 50 percent. Two years later, dine-in was 46.5 percent. Before COVID, it fell to 38 percent.
And close to 90 percent of Firehouse’s sales in that 2012 snapshot stemmed from a customer placing an order with a cashier at the point of sale. Thanks to growth in catering, online ordering, third-party delivery, drive-thru, and even phone orders, it slid to 75.3 percent before the pandemic rattled norms.
Speed—and the kitchen change—represented a vital lever to further unlock this shift in preference. RBI CEO Josh Kobza said at the investor day about two minutes and 45 seconds of guest wait time was due to Firehouse’s steamers. And 90 seconds was related to the time it took to toast bread. “We know this is too long,” he said.
The new steamer cut time down to 45 seconds. A fresh toaster dropped the figure in half, and was being piloted last year across restaurants in Jacksonville. In locations with upgrades, average prep times fell by about 40 percent.
The app improvement also factored into boosting service time as online ordering alleviated pressure on front-line employees. Firehouse overhauled its existing system two summers ago with a focus on user interface and experience. Rates improved by more than 100 percent.
Franchise incentives, development, and performance
There’s also the makeup of Firehouse’s franchise system to consider. The chain Hancock inherited comprised a good deal of single-unit franchisees. About half of the system fit that bill.
It provided the premise for some of incentive approaches the company invested behind. Firehouse worked to encourage development with a 2024–2025 New Franchisee Development Incentive Program, a Veteran and First Responder Program, and a Development Incentive model that goes back to 2023.
The first is for operators who agree to develop and open at least two new locations in 2025 (unless otherwise approved) and is only available to new franchisees. If qualified and green lit, operators pay upfront fees of $20,000 for each new store committed and receive a contribution of $25,000 per restaurant for two stores, or $50,000 for three or more. As Hancock said previously, it’s a program defined by upfront cash—not credits against future payments.
With the veteran and first responder program, Firehouse provides a cash contribution of $100,000 per store for the first to third opened and $50,000 for the fourth or greater.
The 2023–2025 development setup was created for franchisees who agree to build and open at least two Firehouse restaurants in 2025. Here, they get $50,000 for one, $75,000 for two, and $100,000 for three or more (also per location and with $20,000 prepaid fees per store committed).
As for what’s happened on the ground level, Firehouse, per its 2025 FDD, lifted by 39 locations in 2024 to reach 1,248 stores. That follows growth of 22 in each of the past two calendars. So Firehouse has scaled from 1,165 U.S. restaurants since the start of 2022.
There remains a good deal of markets for Firehouse to circle, especially in the Northeast, in terms of where there currently isn’t density.
The growth for Firehouse in 2024 included 62 openings, nine non-renewals, three stores bought back by corporate, and 14 that ceased operations for other reasons. Both sides represented a positive trend line as Firehouse opened 47 in 2023 and had 20 cease operations (44 and 18, respectively, in 2022).
The chain also has visions of a step-up in 2025, which would align with those incentive programs starting to mature. It’s projecting 103 franchised openings and one corporate (not inclusive of any closures). The company said there are 46 franchise agreements signed today without outlets opened.
Firehouse’s largest growth state in 2025 will be Texas, where 15 are slated to open. That would follow 2024’s expansion of 10, year-over-year—the most of any market in the U.S.
Store-level performance unpacks across a few definitions. As of December 31, there were 1,109 franchised traditional development Firehouse Subs locations. Of that, 1,022 were continuously operated in fiscal 2024 and, in turn, included in the sales breakdown. The company excluded 109 stores that were not operating the full year, including 23 that were permanently closed. None of those were open for fewer than 12 months before shuttering. The oldest store in this fleet was opened in February 1998.
This next block covers 22 franchised freestanding drive-thru Firehouse restaurants (operated all 2024). About 96 percent of stores overall are in-line locations.
Below are end-cap strip center franchises with a drive-thru. As of December 31, there were 60 that met that distinction and 56 live the full year.
Additionally, Firehouse included financial information from 655 venues that submitted complete P&L statements.
And results by PNE (performance and expandability scorecard), which covered 635 restaurants. This is a score handed out monthly based on certain current and trailing 12-month metrics where 80 percent is attributed to operations performance and 20 percent to brand alignment. It considers guest experience, feedback, and donations to Firehouse’s Public Safety Foundation. The highest score is 100 percent (90–100 for an A; 70–89.9 for a B; 50–69.9 for a D; and 0–49.9 for a F). Essentially, this reveals, in Firehouse’s outline, how volumes follow if operators meet brand protocols.
The company had 2024 total revenues (in millions) of $8,406, up from $7,022 in 2023 and $6,505 in 2022. Net income was $1,445 from $1,718 in 2023 and $1,482 the year prior.
