Thanks a billion! Jacksonville's Firehouse Subs acquired by Burger King owner
With the Thanksgiving turkey thawed, the holidays are finally here – and so is the debut of Dining Notes, the Times-Union's latest newsletter. (If your turkey is still keeping company with a pint of Mayday ice cream, you’ll probably want to quickly scan this list of restaurants open on Thanksgiving.)
Longtime readers of the Times-Union and the Jacksonville.com will recognize the Dining Notes name. From 2010-2014, I wrote a blog and a column by the same name. Now it’s back, this time as a newsletter, where I’ll be sharing the latest restaurant openings and closings, dining trends, restaurant reviews, inspections reports and more.
Unlike before, though, much of the reporting I’ll share comes from longtime Times-Union reporter Teresa Stepzinski, who’s been covering retail and restaurants in recent years.
Last week, Teresa reported on the blockbuster sale of Jacksonville-based Firehouse Subs to Burger King parent company Restaurant Brands International for a whopping $1 billion, an incredible achievement for Jacksonville firefighter brothers Robin and Chris Sorensen who launched a restaurant concept in a Mandarin strip mall storefront with less than $100 in their checking account in 1994 and turned it into a 1,200-unit chain with restaurants in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico with annual sales topping $1 billion in just 27 years.
Fun fact: With the acquisition of Firehouse Subs, RBI has two restaurants in its portfolio that got their start in Jacksonville. The other? Burger King.
Teresa and photographer Bob Self also got an exclusive first look at RH Jacksonville, the new retail-and-restaurant concept at the St. Johns Town Center that features a glass-encased rooftop restaurant, wine bar and park and more incredible chandeliers than Sia could swing from in a week. With its $10,000 Cloud Sofa and $30 Lobster Roll, the three-level, 70,000-square-foot RH Lifestyle isn’t your father’s Restoration Hardware.
On the city's Westside, nonprofit City Rescue Mission has expanded its Charis Chocolates concept into the standalone Charis Café, offering an expanded menu of coffee, breakfast pastries, bagels, sandwiches and more in addition to its signature handcrafted milk, dark and white chocolate bars. You can find it on Normandy Boulevard.
And finally, if your holiday travels begin or end at Jacksonville International Airport, you’ll find plenty of dining options while waiting for your flight to depart or your luggage to arrive at the baggage carousel. But come January, look for local favorite Southern Grounds & Co. in Concourse A. The restaurant will be the fourth for Southern Grounds owner Mark Janasik, after Neptune Beach, San Marco and Avondale. Later in the year, it’ll be joined by BurgerFi, known for its all-natural, American Angus Beef burgers and fresh-cut fries.
This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful to all the restaurant owners, chefs, line cooks, waitstaff, dishwashers, baristas and more who feed us and make special nights out special and Monday morning coffee stops anything but Monday.
And I’m thankful for readers like you, who support the work we do at the Times-Union, including telling the stories of some of our favorite restaurants and the folks behind them. (Not a subscriber? Here's a special offer.)
Cheers!
P.S. If you see restaurant news in your neighborhood that we should know about, email me and let me know.
Deputy Managing Editor
The Florida Times-Union
Email: gmills@jacksonville.com
Twitter: @garytmills
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Thanks a billion! Jacksonville's Firehouse Subs sold
