Chris Sorensen, who co-founded the popular sandwich brand Firehouse Subs, has died at age 65.
Long before building a restaurant empire, Sorensen pursued a career in music as a professional guitarist. His obituary noted that he occasionally performed with major acts, including Huey Lewis and the News, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Foreigner, and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Sorensen later followed a family tradition by becoming a firefighter, taking the same professional path as his father, Robert.
He served with 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. His father was working there at the time as well.
In 1994, Sorensen and his younger brother, Robin, opened the first Firehouse Subs restaurant in their hometown of Jacksonville, Florida.
The brothers launched the business with less than $100 in their checking accounts, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.
The chain’s first customer order was also unexpected. Rather than a submarine sandwich, the flagship restaurant’s opening order was two fully loaded hot dogs containing roughly 10 ingredients, Robin Sorensen told the Jacksonville Daily Record in 2020.
“We were so focused on the subs, we weren’t prepared for that order. Needless to say, it was a long ticket time,” he recalled.
Firehouse Subs quickly attracted customers with its signature sandwiches, made with steamed meats and cheeses served on warm, toasted rolls.
Chris Sorensen also shaped the look and feel of the restaurants. He helped furnish each location with a custom mural honoring local firefighters and police officers, giving every restaurant a connection to its community.
As a dedicated collector of historical memorabilia, Sorensen also worked to protect the company’s story and became Firehouse Subs’ unofficial archivist.
Firehouse Subs was sold to Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Burger King, for $1 billion in 2021. Under its new ownership, the chain expanded to more than 1,200 locations.
In 2005, Chris and Robin Sorensen established the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation to support first responders with essential equipment, tools, and training.
According to Sorensen’s obituary, the foundation has distributed more than $118 million in grants to 7,700 public safety departments across the United States and Canada.
Fox News Digital contacted Firehouse Subs for comment.
