Firehouse Subs enjoys successful opening week business
After much anticipation, Firehouse Subs, 1729 S. Mission St., is finally open.
Months of preparation, both in building the structure and the city’s efforts on fixing up the parking lot around it, went into Firehouse's May 7 opening, and the restaurant is already making a name for itself.
Father-son duo Bill and Will O’Hara are the owners of the newest subs restaurant in Mount Pleasant.
Bill was visiting Valdosta, Ga., in 2011 with his wife when he got the idea to open up a franchise. They stopped in for a bite to eat at a so-called Firehouse Subs.
He said the food was so good that Bill instantly had the urge to ask the owners if there were plans set in motion to move the franchise Michigan with the franchise.
At that time, it was still up in the air whether Firehouse Subs would open in Michigan, but it stayed in the back of Bill’s mind. It wasn’t until his son Will graduated with a finance major from CMU that Bill decided to do something about it. With a proper business background, Will agreed to start the Mount Pleasant franchise with his father.
“I knew it would just kill it in Michigan,” Bill O’Hara said. “And we couldn’t have put it in a better spot.”
Firehouse Subs offers 50 specialty hot sauces available for a plethora of steamed sub options. Each sauce is numbered from 1-10, depending on its spiciness.
It also boasts a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine that allows customers to create 127 different variations of classic Coca-Cola drinks.
Along with offering specialty subs at a low price, Firehouse Subs also donates a part of its income to the Public Safety Foundation, which provides funding, equipment and education for first responders.
“This first week has been just great, there were lines out the door, and even when the snow and sleet were coming down, we had a packed house,” Bill said.
