Firehouse Subs, the restaurant brand known for its hot subs and commitment to public safety, has had an exceptional year of rapid expansion.
The hot sub chain founded by former firefighters is the fastest growing sandwich brand in Canada with no plans of slowing down. Recently the brand surpassed the 100 restaurant level in Canada, marking an impressive year of rapid expansion across Canada.
In 2024 alone, Firehouse Subs has opened about 30 restaurants across Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick with plans to open 40 total by the end of the year. It all started in 2015 with the brand’s first locally-owned franchise restaurant in Oshawa.
“We couldn’t be more proud to serve Canadians coast to coast thanks to our accelerated growth in Canada,” said Mike Hancock, President of Firehouse Subs. “Our success is rooted in our amazing local and community-focused franchisees who are committed to serving incredible hot subs, delivering heartfelt service to guests and supporting local communities through the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation of Canada.”
In addition to the brand reaching the milestone of opening 100 restaurants, the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation awarded a record-breaking $1 million worth of lifesaving grants to first responders across Canada in 2024.
Firehouse Subs is committed to supporting the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation of Canada, which has awarded 369 grants worth more than $4.1 million to fund critical equipment for local heroes and public safety organizations.
The brand was founded in 1994 by two brothers and former firefighters. Firehouse Subs is a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International Inc., one of the world’s largest quick service restaurant companies with over $35 billion in annual system-wide sales and approximately 30,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. RBI owns four of the world’s most prominent and iconic quick service restaurant brands – Burger King®, Tim Hortons, Popeyes, and Firehouse Subs.
General Manager of Canada Sam Gallant said the brand is very hopeful by the end of the year that it will get over the 110 mark and that will mean 40 new openings this year.
“We’re 100 per cent locally franchised. That’s what really sets us apart and what we’re extremely proud of is that our average franchisee today has about three restaurants. We think that’s really what sets us apart is our franchisees. They’re in their restaurants every day. They know their guests, they know their team members, they know their local fire departments. So that’s been really important for us. All of our franchisees have growth ambitions, and we’re really excited for them to grow,” he said.
Gallant said traditionally the brand was opening restaurants that were 1,500 square square feet up to 3000 square feet.
“But now we’re really focused on efficiency. Real estate is obviously at a premium right now. Everybody seems to be battling for the 1,200-square-foot location and that’s typically what we’re looking to build. But we actually just opened a location in Toronto, which is a little over 800 square feet. Just given the availability of real estate obviously in those markets. We’re excited about that and we’re actually going to be opening one in the Mission area of Calgary. That’s going to be an urban design a little over 800 square feet as well. We’re hoping to open that in late December.”
Gallant said the brand resonates with consumers in Canada.
“Our hot steamed meat, our proprietary steaming method with the our steamed meats and our melted cheese is something that our guests really love. Of course our generous portions is a big part of that but really for me what I think sets us apart is this year is actually a huge two big milestones for us. We’ve opened our 100th restaurant. Becoming more convenient for our guests. But this will be the first year that we actually give a million dollars to first responders in Canada which is a huge milestone for us. Since we entered Canada in 2015, we’ve given over $4 million.”
Gallant said the company is in six provinces and next year the goal is to be in at least nine provinces by adding Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland. There are plans to hopefully in 2026 also be in one of the Territories.
He said the brand could grow to between 400 and 500 locations in Canada.
“We want to be more convenient for a guest and of course with every restaurant opening that means we get to give more to the first responders.”
This year Firehouse entered into a partnership with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League.
It also entered into smaller partnerships with the Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks, and Calgary Flames. New to come in the New Year will also be a partnership with the Edmonton Oilers.
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Subway is in serious trouble with Firehouse, Jersey Mike’s and Jimmy Johns making inroads. Only the best locations and coupons/promotions will keep select Subway franchises alive. Subway’s lack of quality vs the aforementioned three chains isn’t just apparent but shameful. If I were a Subway franchisee I would s**t my pants with fear after taking a single bite of these competitor’s sandwiches. The delta in quality is simply that massive. Even Mr. Sub and Quiznos are both better than Subway as well. I’m obviously a sandwich freak haha.
I’m trying to understand the “unserved” market that Firehouse is attempting to reach. Canada is absolutely saturated with sub shops and there is very little that a newcomer like Firehouse can offer to differentiate itself. The last big American chain to challenge Subway in Canada, Quizno’s, has really run out of steam.
I have to ask Firehouse leadership the same question I would pose to any American brand hoping to expand into Canada: What do you bring to the table that current competitors already in the market don’t?
Still no location in Toronto’s core though?