Highlights
- Opening one unit is estimated at $405,350 to $875,950, including a $20,000 initial fee.p.34
- Firehouse Subs discloses unit performance in Item 19.p.73
- The system went from 1,187 outlets at the start of 2023 to 1,291 at the end of 2025, a net gain of 104.p.81
- In 2025, closures of all kinds equalled 2.5% of the outlets open at the start of the year.
- Item 3 discloses 12 matters.p.18
Tools, from this filing's numbers
Cash you would need to open
The filing's Item 7 range, $405,350 to $875,950, is an estimate for one unit including only its first months. Slide between the low and high cases and add the months of runway you want beyond that.
Monthly operating cash is taken as one-twelfth of your weekly-sales figure above times 52 (set to $15,000 a week here), a placeholder for rent, labor and food until you have your own budget.
Where the units went in 2025
Every outlet that opened, and every one that left, drawn from Item 20 Table 3 to scale.p.89
Total outlets, 2022 to 2025
Compare Firehouse Subs with another brand
Side by side, every figure cited.
Fees (Items 5 and 6)
| Initial franchise fee, standard | $20,000 | p.24 |
| Royalty | not stated | |
| Advertising fund | not stated | |
| Technology fee | held for review |
The filing lists every recurring and conditional fee in Item 6. The report carries all of them.
Estimated initial investment (Item 7)
| Expenditure | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Background Check Fee | $0 | $450 | p.33 |
| Initial Franchise Fee | $20,000 | $20,000 | p.33 |
| Mural | $3,500 | $6,000 | p.33 |
| Training | $7,000 | $26,000 | p.33 |
| Market Introduction Fee | $5,000 | $5,000 | p.33 |
| Real Estate | held | held | p.33 |
| Architectural & Engineering Fees | $11,000 | $20,000 | p.33 |
| POS System/Technology | $5,000 | $7,500 | p.34 |
| Real Property Improvements | $0 | $10,000 | p.34 |
| Leasehold Improvements | $210,000 | $459,000 | p.34 |
| Deposits and Prepaid Expenses | $2,500 | $21,500 | p.34 |
| Exterior Signs | $4,500 | $21,900 | p.34 |
| Interior Branding & Graphics | $7,000 | $16,000 | p.34 |
| Equipment and Fixtures | $105,000 | $169,000 | p.34 |
| Opening Inventory | $12,000 | $25,000 | p.34 |
| Business Licenses | $650 | $14,900 | p.34 |
| Insurance | $500 | $1,500 | p.34 |
| MIS System Fee | $1,200 | $1,200 | p.34 |
| Legal, Accounting and Professional Fees | $500 | $6,000 | p.34 |
| Additional Funds (Working Capital – 3 months) | $10,000 | $45,000 | p.34 |
| Total | $405,350 | $875,950 | p.34 |
Revenue (Item 19)
Firehouse Subs reports a financial performance figure of $973,809 across 1033 outlets.p.74 What the figure measures, which units were excluded and what it leaves out are in the report.
Units (Item 20)
| Type | Year | Start | End | Net | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| franchised | 2023 | 1,149 | 1,170 | 21 | p.81 |
| company owned | 2023 | 38 | 39 | 1 | p.81 |
| total | 2023 | 1,187 | 1,209 | 22 | p.81 |
| franchised | 2024 | 1,170 | 1,206 | 36 | p.81 |
| company owned | 2024 | 39 | 42 | 3 | p.81 |
| total | 2024 | 1,209 | 1,248 | 39 | p.81 |
| franchised | 2025 | 1,206 | 1,249 | 43 | p.81 |
| company owned | 2025 | 42 | 42 | 0 | p.81 |
| total | 2025 | 1,248 | 1,291 | 43 | p.81 |
Openings and closures, system totals (Table 3)
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Non-renewed | Reacquired | Ceased, other | End | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1,149 | 47 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 20 | 1,170 | p.89 |
| 2024 | 1,170 | 62 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 14 | 1,206 | p.89 |
| 2025 | 1,206 | 73 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1,249 | p.89 |
Litigation (Item 3)
12 pending cases described.p.18 0 actions filed by the franchisor against franchisees in the last fiscal year.p.22 Counts are of distinct matters as the filing describes them; the report carries each one in plain words.
Scorecard
Rank among the brands on this site that report the figure, on each list's own direction. No blended grade. How the lists work.
| Cost to open | $405,350 | 39 of 74 |
| Royalty plus ad fund | held | held |
| Three-year unit growth | 8.8% | 36 of 75 |
| Closure rate, 2025 | 2.5% | 37 of 71, 1 = most |
| Discloses unit revenue | yes | |
| Litigation disclosed | 12 | 2 of 68, 1 = most |
Source
Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions franchise filing 640423, effective 3/25/2026, expires 3/25/2027. Extracted 2026-09-04 by two independent readers; only figures both agreed on, whose quoted words appear on the cited page, are shown. 6 fields held for review. How this works.