TOPSHAM

A lifelong Alabama resident until recently,

Coleman Sheffield said when he was younger, it was always a dream of his to be a franchisee.

A trucker for 30 years, Sheffield would stop in at a Firehouse Subs for lunch maybe three times a week, he said, “and I love the product. And I’m not saying that because I’m opening a franchise. They make a good sandwich.”

Indeed, after driving truck for all those years, the 51-year-old Sheffield is opening and will manage the first Firehouse Subs location in Maine, right in the Topsham Fair Mall. The new establishment will take up 2,000 square feet in the retail space developed by Dan Catlin which is currently under construction next to Town Fair Tire.

Sheffield’s friend and current business partner is from Lisbon Falls where Sheffield moved a year ago, placing him between the Topsham-Brunswick and Lewiston-Auburn markets Firehouse Subs predetermined it would develop in. Topsham’s will be the first restaurant in Maine, slated to open by December, if not earlier.

Catlin said he is pleased Firehouse Subs chose Topsham, believing that their decision “reinforces that Topsham is an established powerhouse for Central Maine.”

With the 8,000-square-foot building under construction, Firehouse Subs will occupy space on the end nearest Midway Drive, Catlin said. The site will also feature a patio. Mattress Firm will occupy the larger 4,000-square-foot area and the remaining 2,000- square-foot space is still available.

Firehouse Subs, hovering around 650 locations, broke records in 2012 by opening 98 new restaurants and adding 144 new franchisees.

Dave Tucci, who lives in Cumberland and is the New England representative for Firehouse Subs, said that while the numbers may make it look “like we’re just going anywhere we have interest, in actuality, we only approve about 14 percent of the franchise candidates who inquire about Firehouse. So we’re very selective about making sure it’s the right franchisee and even more selective about the locations.”

Tucci said Firehouse has opened about 77 locations so far this year and is on track to open about 100 locations total across the country in 2013.

“Our goal is to get to 2,000 by 2020,” Tucci said.

He opened the first location in New England in Danvers, Mass., about a year and a half ago, and then in Copley Square in Boston and then in Woburn, Mass. In the coming months, restaurants will open in Topsham and also Nashua, N.H.

“The development plan for the state of Maine is about seven restaurants total,” Tucci said, adding that Sheffield and his business partner, Chad Lachance of Lisbon Falls, plan to open a second location in the Auburn area.

Before Firehouse opens in a new market, “we do some extensive research on demographics and make sure it is the right fit,” Tucci said. The company assists in all aspects of opening a new restaurant, including business startup, site location and training.

Sheffield is currently in Danvers, Mass., for six weeks of training to prepare him for his job in managing the Topsham store. Tucci stressed, “We don’t allow absentee franchisees. Coleman is going to be there, open to close, seven days a week,” taking care of his neighbors and community.

Sheffield said his decision to become a franchisee has involved a lot of foot work, and him pouring over franchise documents and conducting a lot of research.

“It’s scary to change careers and leave your safety zone,” Sheffield said. However, “it’s a good move.”

“It’s been very exciting here the last few weeks; it’s starting to become real,” he said in his thick southern accent. “Nothing has deterred me. There’s been good momentum and it’s been a goal of mine and I’ve been focusing on it and it’s going to happen.”

Sheffield’s favorite sandwich and Firehouse’s No. 1 seller, the signature Hook & Ladder, features Virginia honey ham, smoked turkey and Monterey Jack cheese. “And we serve that fully involved,” Tucci said, “our version of loaded — mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, onion, deli mustard and a Kosher dill pickle on the side.” Tucci said unlike other sandwiches that are fully assembled and then heated, each component of Firehouse Subs sandwiches are individually heated — meat and cheese steamed separately and the bread toasted. “It’s very tasty.”

The menu consists of 10 specialty subs and customers can get a basic sandwich if they want. Each restaurant has a hot sauce bar with a minimum of 50 kinds of hot sauces. The restaurants provide high-quality ingredients and Sargento cheeses, so “it’s really a higher quality sandwich that you’re not going to get anywhere else,” Tucci said.

Firehouse uses USDA whole-muscle meats, handsliced fresh daily, fresh produce, and a steam process for the meat and cheese together that allow the flavors of the cheese and fresh-sliced meats to blend together, Tucci said. The chain holds proprietary recipes for its sub rolls and breads.

Prices vary from market to market, but Tucci said in Topsham, a medium sandwich will cost a little more than $6 and a large sandwich, containing a half-pound of meat, is $2 more. A combo of chips and a 32-ounce drink is another $2.49, so customers can get a medium sub and combo, “a good hearty lunch, for under $10.”

The first Firehouse Subs opened in 1994 in Jacksonville, Fla., by brothers and firefighters Chris Sorensen and Robin Sorensen. Tucci said the concept was two firefighters creating their dream restaurant, making for a very authentic look of them which doesn’t change year to year. The restaurants often display old unused equipment donated by a local fire department to pay homage to that department.

A unique aspect to Firehouse Subs, which was important to Sheffield and because it allows the company to give back to the community, is its public safety foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) established in 2005. The foundation provides funding, lifesaving equipment, disaster assistance and educational opportunities for first responders and public safety organizations.

“We’ve raised and donated over $6.5 million back to local fire departments and public service entities in the communities that our restaurants serve,” Tucci said.

Sheffield said he is looking forward to the grand opening and hopes to get a lot of business.

“I’m pretty laid-back and get along with just about anybody,” he said, and is ready to meet his patrons.

The venture is getting very exciting and acknowledging it was scary to move from Alabama to Maine, where he doesn’t miss the 100-degree weather, “it was the right decision. Maine is a beautiful state and I’m loving it.”

“You have to jump,” Sheffield said. “You can sit there and say, ‘Should I? Should I?’ I don’t want to be 65 years old and say, ‘I wish I tried it,’ and never did. If you don’t take a chance, it will never happen.”

To learn more about Firehouse Subs, visit www.firehousesubs.com.

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