Manuel Martinez has lived and worked on both sides of the San Diego-Tijuana border throughout his life.
The 42-year-old now has his dream job on the U.S. side — as a franchisee for Firehouse Subs. He will be opening the very first ever Firehouse soon in Chula Vista at 510 Broadway St. near H Street.
“Chula Vista is really big and I wanted to be part of the community, that’s why we chose that location,” said Martinez of his new store site, which was formerly a Radio Shack for many years.
“We’ll be the first ones in that food-oriented strip mall that’s been ‘rediscovered,’ ” said Martinez, who’s spent six months remodeling the retail space.
Martinez noted customers won’t have a problem figuring out where they’re at once they’re in his place.
“We have the support of the firemen and first responders, and our basic design is about them,” he said. “We have fire poles, and axes and helmets of our community firemen with their names on them.”
Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., Firehouse Subs is a fast casual restaurant chain founded in 1994 by brothers and former firefighters Chris and Robin Sorensen, The eatery’s renowned for serving medium and large specialty subs with premium meats and cheeses steamed hot with generous portions on a toasted sub roll. The concept takes inspiration from the Sorensen family’s decades of combined fire and police service.
To date, Firehouse Subs has opened more than 1,000 franchise restaurants across 44 states and in Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. In 2005, the Sorensens created the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation. The Foundation’s mission is to provide funding for life-saving equipment and educational opportunities to first responders and public safety organizations. Since its inception, Firehouse Subs and its customers have donated more than $24 million to aid first responders.
What’s special – and unique – about Firehouse subs?
Partly, noted Martinez, its the way food’s prepared there.
“We steam the meats and cheeses in our special equipment which gives it a different flavor,” he said. “The vapor and the steam melts the cheese and brings it together with the meat making it one. The key is all the juice and flavor of the sauces stays in the subs.”
Martinez spent 18 years working for a catering business serving a Tijuana banquet hall. He decided to live in the United States because it afforded him a greater opportunity to open his own business.
“Every culture has its different restaurant types,” he noted. “I thought it would be a good idea to do something in a nice community involving franchising, helping out by serving great food to the community.”
The franchisee took five years to find just the right franchise. Martinez said he ultimately went with Firehouse because of their food quality and because “they give back to their communities.”
Firehouse Subs in Chula Vista will be open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner from 9:30 to 12 a.m. It will serve crowd-pleasing items like salads and chili. Martinez’s restaurant will also be state of the art in that it will utilize all the latest technology.
“For our loyal patrons, we’ll have a special app direct from your phone where you can add up points, search for the nearest Firehouse location and order and pickup online,” Martinez said. He added Uber is even getting involved via www.ubereats.com, wherein you can order anything from a roster of local restaurants and have it delivered, with an average order time, from start to finish, of 30 minutes.
“This is a family oriented business,” noted Martinez adding, “We want to start growing.
Martinez already has a second Firehouse location in the works in National City.
