Chris Sorensen, who co-founded the Firehouse Subs sandwich chain with his younger brother Robin in 1994, has died at age 65.
Sorensen began his working life as a professional guitarist, sitting in at times with musicians from Huey Lewis and the News, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Foreigner and Earth, Wind & Fire, according to his obituary. He later followed his father Robert into firefighting, working for the Brevard County Fire Department and the Jacksonville International Airport Fire and Rescue Department before spending a decade as an engineer and EMT with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, where his father also served.
In 1994, with less than $100 between their checking accounts, Chris and Robin Sorensen opened the first Firehouse Subs in their hometown of Jacksonville, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. The brothers built the business around steamed meats and cheeses piled on warm toasted rolls, a formula that caught on well beyond North Florida.
The flagship location’s very first order wasn’t even a sandwich. Robin Sorensen told the Jacksonville Daily Record in 2020 that a customer ordered two hot dogs loaded with roughly ten ingredients each.
“We were so focused on the subs, we weren’t prepared for that order. Needless to say, it was a long ticket time,” Robin Sorensen said.
Chris Sorensen took the lead on each restaurant’s interior design, commissioning custom murals in every location depicting local fire and police service. A collector of historical artifacts, he also served as the chain’s unofficial archivist, working to preserve its history as it grew.
In 2005, the brothers established the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation to provide first responders with life-saving equipment, tools and training. The foundation has since awarded more than $118 million in grants to 7,700 fire, police and emergency departments across the United States and Canada, according to the obituary.
Firehouse Subs was sold in 2021 for $1 billion to Restaurant Brands International, the company that also owns Burger King. The chain has since grown to more than 1,200 locations. Fox News Digital reported it reached out to Firehouse Subs for comment.
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