Mark Hendren of Nicholasville tried a sandwich at Firehouse Subs on Aug. 9, the day the new location opened at 455 Keene Centre Drive in Nicholasville. (Photo by Jonathan Kleppinger) |
Nicholasville’s newest sub shop has a distinctly Jessamine County flavor, as one of the city’s own is behind the restaurant with a local firefighting theme.
Firehouse Subs opened Aug. 9 at 455 Keene Centre Drive. The chain has more than 430 locations and features hot subs as well as a touch-screen “Coca-Cola Freestyle” fountain that offers more than 100 beverage brands.
Franchisee Don Roe grew up in Nicholasville; he said running the business with his son as general manager is special.
“I worked for the federal government for 20 years, and when I retired, I moved back home; this is where I grew up. I decided if I was going to work, I was going to work for myself and work with my son,” Roe said. “It’s special for me to get to do it with him. It’s a nice little family business.”
Firehouse Subs was hailed nationally in a recent Consumer Reports survey that rated the chain’s subs as having the best taste of 11 franchises tested.
The shop features its own specialty subs, including the turkey-and-ham “Hook & Ladder” and the “New York Steamer” that combines corned beef brisket and pastrami. Each large specialty sub includes a half-pound of meat.
Firehouse was founded in Florida 16 years ago by a pair of firefighting brothers from a family with a 200-year history of fighting fires. The new store in Nicholasville is a local reflection of the chain’s heritage, the walls donned with equipment from Nicholasville, Jessamine County and Wilmore fire departments as well as pictures from live fires in the county.
The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation was created in 2005 with the mission of providing support to first-reponders through funding, equipment and training. More than $2.6 million has been given to 225 communities through the foundation.
Roe said the foundation of serving emergency personnel in the community was a key reason he chose to open a Firehouse Subs.
“We looked at franchise opportunities for a year before we decided on Firehouse Subs,” he said. “It’s just the quality of the product, the organization, the public-safety foundation that gives back to the community and gives back to local firefighters and EMTs — no other franchise out there has that.”
Nicholasville’s Firehouse Subs is open from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Delivery is offered on catering and orders of $50 or more.
For more information, call the shop at 859-881-5011. Orders can be faxed in to 859-881-1044.
Roe said he was proud to be the face of a Firehouse Subs restaurant.
“If I’m going to sell something, I want to sell something I believe in, and this is a great product,” he said.
