Firehouse Subs announced its grand opening in Baxter after owners Bob and Larissa Sullivan discovered the restaurant while on vacation in Florida. The franchise gives back to the community by making contributions to first responders and public organizations.

“We greet every customer when they come in so to get the crews attention, we say ’10-12,’ and then when the customer walks in, everyone says ‘welcome to Firehouse,’ so it starts with that initial greeting and then after that they come up and we have good customer service at the register,” said Firehouse Subs General Manager Taylor Stansbury.

Along with fire station decor, things like their very own sauce and steamed cold cuts are just some of the differences that make Firehouse Subs stand out.

“We have a wide variety of sauces, we have about 28 different hot sauces on display and we got our own Captain Sorensen sauce which is kind of like a mid-range, and we rank them from one to 10 for hotness. The subs come hot and steamed and it’s just that steamy meat that is kind of different,” said Stansbury.

For every sub that is purchased, a portion of the sales goes into providing lifesaving equipment and funding towards education for first responders.

“Our Public Safety Foundation helps give back to the fire departments and police departments, and previous Firehouse locations donated enough money so they can get their AED systems for ambulances and stuff like that; it’s a very great foundation and I encourage everyone to help donate,” said Shift Manager Greg Shervey.

The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation was founded in 2005, providing funding to 46 million hometown heroes in 49 states as well as Puerto Rico and Canada.

By — Chantelle Calhoun