At its investor day, Restaurant Brands International shared it expected 300–400 net new restaurants per year in the U.S. and Canada going forward. That promised a material uptick from the roughly 90 it averaged across 2023–2025—a number that would have been closer to 200 if Burger King wasn’t shuttering units as part of its “Reclaim the Flame” turnaround.
But it’s not going to be a revitalized Burger King, steady Tim Hortons, or Popeyes serving as the primary driver into 2026 and beyond; it’s Firehouse Subs.
RBI newest brand, which it acquired for $1 billion in late December 2021, is slated to deliver about half of the company’s net new units in North America as Burger King returns to neutral and the other brands comprise the rest.
Firehouse quietly hit a milestone in 2025 as it surpassed 100 net new restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. The chain has increased its growth rate by more than 5X since the RBI deal. And with paybacks coming under four years and renewed franchising efforts (more on this shortly), the company said there’s clear sight for the 1994-founded sandwich chain to open between 150–200 net new restaurants per year by 2028.
All together, RBI’s 300–400 net would join 700 from the company’s top 10 international growth markets en route to 40,000 units and $60 billion in systemwide sales.
Brand president Mike Hancock, who was appointed to the role in 2023 following a year as COO, and before, the same post at Tim Hortons (he’s been with the company for 13 years), was asked at investor day about Firehouse’s differentiators in what’s always been a crowded field.
He said Firehouse remains No. 1 in hot sandwiches and guest satisfaction. Its OSAT typically ranges in the mid- to high-70s, and Google stars 4.4–4.5. And it’s stayed locked into a founding principle of giving back, raising north of $100 million for first responders over the years via its Public Safety Foundation.
Firehouse, founded by brothers and former firefighters Chris Sorensen and Robin Sorensen, is a top three private donor in the U.S. for life-saving equipment.
Hancock added Firehouse has seen “rapid acceleration” with its digital business. Since RBI stepped in, the brand’s first-party business has popped nearly 2X. The overall digital picture is up roughly 50 percent. Additionally, Ipsos recent ranked Firehouse the No. 1 chain in terms of app functionality.
The brand focused in 2025 on high-growth categories like chicken and steak and began rolling out French fries as a side. They were in about half of stores at investor day and are expected to cover the system by year-end 2026.
Firehouse will work to leverage first party more in 2026 and introduce targeted offers, which Hancock said could represent a “big tailwind.” Also, it’s going to become more targeted in how it spends media dollars and will ramp up sports partnerships following success in 2025.
“So, very excited about the fundamentals,” Hancock said. “And now, it’s all about how do we unlock and grow this brand even faster.”
There was no mention at this investor day of Firehouse going 100 percent digital as there was in 2004. But Hancock’s broader digital point is worth rerouting to.
Firehouse was historically a very dine-in centric sandwich player. Back in 2012, dine-in accounted for 52.4 percent of the chain’s sales—a somewhat unusual reality in an arena dominated by takeout. That arrow turned in the coming years as guest preferences ushered more and more of Firehouse’s business outside the four walls.
By 2014, dine-in was a shade under 50 percent. Two years later, it was 46.5 percent. As the pandemic approached in 2019, unbeknownst to operators, of course, mix had dipped to 38 percent.
Nearly 90 percent of Firehouse’s sales in 2012 came from a customer placing an order with a cashier at the point of sale. That channel of trade was 75.3 percent before COVID, with catering, online ordering, third-party delivery, drive-thru, and phone orders, all on the rise.
Whether or not Firehouse still envisions a world where every order takes place digitally, it’s a corner of the brand’s growth unlikely to level off anytime soon. Firehouse was working extensively last year on improving speed and kitchen design across its system, which is about 95 percent in-line. This meant new equipment designed to reduce wait times and improve quality, like updated steamers and toasters. The app, to an earlier point, was updated in summer 2023.
Hancock said at investor day Firehouse in the U.S. started off heavily focused on unit economics. Four-wall EBITDA, post-RBI sale, has grown close to 30 percent. The brand eclipsed $100,000 in 2025.
Registration is now open for the QSR Evolution Conference! Secure your spot here.
And Firehouse has remained focused, Hancock said, on maintaining best-in-class CapEx. Through improved supplier negotiations and shrinking its footprint—from 2,000 square feet to about 1,400–1,500—the brand has kept paybacks attractive. The evolution toward more digital and takeout suggests Firehouse doesn’t require the same size boxes as it once did.
On Canada, Hancock said the area represents a different target than the U.S. because of the whitespace and relative lack of competition. This past year, without providing specifics, he noted Firehouse was “one of the fastest-growing brands in the entire country.” It has grown from about 60 stores in one province to more than 150 across multiple regions in less than a decade.
A culprit has been RBI’s ability to cherry pick the best operators from Tim Hortons, which spreads through more than 3,900 stores across Canada. Those franchisees are “unlocking a ton of growth for us,” Hancock said.
“And one thing folks don’t realize just about the Firehouse business is even though we’re growing quickly, even though our ARS is around $1 million, we have a take rate in the high single digits,” he said. “So, it’s very accretive in terms of growth for RBI as we continue to build 150 to 200 restaurants over the next few years.”
Firehouse in Q1 2026 began the year with net restaurant growth of 8.1 percent and relatively flat same-store sales (negative 0.5 percent against positive 0.6 percent in the year-ago quarter), resulting in 7.2 percent systemwide sales thanks to expansion. U.S. comps were up 0.3 percent and 0.6 percent over two years. The net growth took Firehouse to 1,461 restaurants compared to 1,352 this time a year ago.
Behind the growth curtain
As Firehouse ignites its North America lever, the chain continues to refine incentive programs that have been part of its story since Hancock took over. The current options are:
- 10 in 2 Incentive: $100,000 per restaurant opening for franchisees who develop at least 10 restaurants during 2027 and 2028, plus a potential $500,000 achievement bonus incentive following the 10th opening.
- Grow A-Gain Incentive: $150,000 per restaurant opening for operators who have a grade of “A” under Firehouse’s current operational metrics, who have not opened a location in five or more years, and develop at least two new restaurants by December 31, 2028.
- Accelerated Market Incentive: $150,000 per restaurant opening, plus a 2 percent royalty rate reduction for three years for franchisees who develop at least three restaurants in priority markets, including New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Boston; Philadelphia; Seattle; Washington, D.C.; Minneapolis; San Diego; Detroit; Indianapolis; and Providence, Rhode Island.
Hancock and the brand in 2023 introduced the early iteration of this program after connecting with franchisees. It wanted to know what external factors stalled development. The answer was capital, not royalties. So, Firehouse responded to inflation by moving away from traditional relief tied to royalties or marketing funds and instead started to provide cash upfront to help franchisees bring stores to market. Firehouse said restaurants that used to cost $300,000 to develop were now closer to $500,000.
This past year was Firehouse’s strongest net growth stretch in more than a decade as it added 43 restaurants, year-over-year in the U.S. The chain also earned $1.2 billion in domestic systemwide sales at $960,000 average-unit volumes. Franchisee profitability per unit, like Hanock told investors, lifted to more than $100,000. It was $90,000 in 2024.
Taking a deeper look into Firehouse’s FDD, the brand sloped from 22 net openings in 2023 to 39 in 2024 to the 43 this past calendar. All the growth last year was franchised following four corporate locations being added in 2023 and 2024 combined (three in 2024).
The U.S. split year-end 2025 was 1,249 franchised and 42 company.
Growth included 73 openings, six terminations, 15 non-renewals, and nine stores that ceased for other reasons.
And Firehouse projects 105 new franchised gross outlets in 2026 as well as two corporate.
The biggest potential market on deck in Texas, where 15 restaurants are expected to open this year. Firehouse claims to have 11 franchised agreements signed today without an outlet opened yet.
Firehouse unravels an extensive look into unit-level performance in its Item 19. The first measure covers counter-service franchised restaurants, of which there were 1,109 as of December 31. This pool does not include 21 stores permanently closed during 2025. None of those were open for less than a year before shuttering.
Seventy-six stores were also excluded because they didn’t operate continuously throughout the year.
The highest-earning Firehouse took in $3.523 million in 2025. The lowest, $154,410. The AUV of this group was $938,981.
Firehouse also included sales data from freestanding franchised restaurants with a drive-thru. There were 39 headed into 2026. Of that, 35 ran for all of 2025 and comprise the information below. No drive-thrus closed last year.
The AUV of drive-thru restaurants was higher at $1.058 million, with the top taker at $1.442 million and the low $402,349.
Next, Firehouse unpacked end cap strip center franchised restaurants with a drive-thru. There were 86 as 2025 closed. Sixty-nine were live for the year and, thus, featured below.
Likewise, none closed last year. The best performer was at $2.23 million and the bottom $488,122.
This following chart regards financial information by annual sales levels. Basically, the cost breakdown based on how well a unit performs.
And here, performance and PNE (performance and expandability) scores. PNE is a monthly measure Firehouse doles out to restaurants based on certain current and trailing 12 month metrics where 80 percent is attributed to operations performance and the balance to brand alignment. Operations scores rate KPIs such as guest experience and feedback. Brand alignment concerns a store’s donations to the Public Safety Foundation.
It’s rated where 100 percent is the highest and zero percent the lowest. An “A” is 90–100 percent; “B” 70–89.9 percent; “D” 50–69.99 percent; “F” 0–49.99 percent.
This is essentially Firehouse’s illustration of how operation standards and giving back led to higher sales.
The total investment necessary to begin operation of a single Firehouse, exclusive of real estate costs, ranges from $405,350 to $875,950 for a traditional restaurant; $528,159 to
$1.087 million for an end-cap strip mall spot with a drive-thru; and $767,950 to $1.578 million for a freestanding restaurant with a drive-thru. This includes $26,200 paid to the franchisor.
The post Firehouse Subs is Quietly on the Cusp of a Major Growth Run appeared first on QSR Magazine.