Firehouse Subs

First time in Columbus and first time at Firehouse. Best sub I’ve ever had, and I’m from NYC!

Typical teen management, the place was filthy on a Saturday at 2:50 pm. Subs are usually good but come on… care enough to clean up.

I have tried a number of their subs and I haven’t found one that I dislike. Each sandwich comes out piping hot and fresh, with lots of topics on it. My wife loves getting the pickle spear on the side. My favorite is between the meatball sub and the turkey bacon ranch.

Above average sandwiches, but filthy store. Every time we go to this location, it’s impossible to find a clean table. The floor is always covered with spilled soda and sandwich remnants.
I actually asked them to wipe a table down for us this time, and couldn’t believe the attitude I received. One of the people preparing the sandwiches, asked a girl sitting in back, listening to music, to wipe the tables down. She responded with «I’ll do it in a few minutes,» and put her ear buds back in. He must have seen the look on my face, because he walked back there and asked her to do it immediately. She reluctantly did, but it was obvious my request had put her out.
I don’t think I’m very high maintenance, I just want a clean place to eat when I go to a restaurant.

Normally, I like Firehouse but this time I thought I would try something new. I tried the Engineer fully involved. All I can say is «ICK». The mushrooms were cold and slimy and the bun was super soggy. I only ate it because I had spent to much on it. I literally felt sick all day after eating it.

Yum yum. I came here for a nice Sunday after-​church lunch. Decided against the majority of their menu (subs) for a special seasonal sandwich — the Hawaiian Pork & Coleslaw! The pork and coleslaw were great, but the standout was definitely the Hawaiian bun it was served on. Soooo good!
Also very cool that they ask to «round up» your total and donate the difference to firefighters. It was only 12 cents for us, but I’m sure if all their customers do this it makes a nice donation overall.

I love Firehouse subs for the most part but their prices can be a bit high I believe comparative to other shops. Their subs can also tend to be a bit sugary or sweet or something. But overall I really love what they do their, especially their Hook N’ Ladder. Their service is always very friendly and fast as well. I would also like to mention they now have a smaller «fit» line of sandwiches for if you are watching your weight. Their custom made pop they have, the lime-​cherry is delicious, especially when mixed with Buckeye vodka, not that I would know ;)

I work next to Firehouse subs & hallelujah for that. It’s a pit stop for our employees on a daily basis, which tells you that their subs never get old.
2 big screen TVs will entertain you while you wait.
Firehouse has knocked me out of my Subway routine. Scratch that… Firehouse has destroyed the competition & I find myself making excuses to eat there for every meal.

These steamed subs are not for me.
I had the Italian sub on wheat, which is a sandwich I always love. At Firehouse, I couldn’t find much about the sub that I actually enjoyed. The quality was there, but taste and texture were way off. I much prefer toasted buns, the steamed stuff they serve here is not very good to me and borderline gross.
Pros: They do have good freshly-​brewed iced tea (a big deal to me!) and the staff is excellent. My large sub was big enough that I took some home and the ingredients on it seemed fresh.
Cons: All of their faxed /​called-​in orders have to be keyed into the register while people in line wait to place their order. The enthusiastic greeting is alright but wears thin during a busy lunch rush. They don’t have any appealing side items — standard bag o’ chips or a cookie. And again, the steamed buns just plain suck.
Some friends speak very highly of this place, so you may like it. I certainly do not.

On a recent vacation to North Myrtle Beach we tried Firehouse Subs. When we tried them there we had no idea that they were a growing chain and everyone had a great sub so I was excited when we found out that they had a location near us. My wife and I loved our subs in NMB and my son and daughter both were in love with the custom drink machine where you can mix coke flavors together. I believe he used the phrase, «greatest invention ever.» Our subs in NMB were tasty and filling and none of us were hungry again for hours.
So one day I was near Polaris and thought I would give the local Firehouse Subs a try. With their commercials playing constantly on the radio I was in the mood for a nice lunch. I could get a nice bite to eat, support former fire fighters… that’s a win/​win… right?
Trying something a little different I ordered a steak and cheese sub with green pepper, a little bit of tomato and some mayo. When my sub was brought to me and I pried open the bun to review the ingredients, I noticed that there was as much green pepper as there was steak. Huh? I had ordered a steak sub. Had the steak fallen out somewhere? I checked my table, the floor around me… nope, no missing steak. I was probably served 2.5 oz of steak on a full length sub. There was so much green pepper that most of my sub looked green instead of meat/​steak color. So I scrapped off about 75% of the green pepper, pushed the steak all to one side of the bun and had a tasty one-​third sized steak sub.
I considered complaining but it appeared that every Firehouse employee was a teenager. I didn’t see an «adult» in sight. I had trouble believing that they would care I felt the steak sub was mostly steak-​less. And that’s when I noticed that probably 90% of the people eating at Firehouse was also in their teens. And everyone was making trip after trip to the custom drink machine. No one was really paying much attention to the food but the custom drink machine was getting a work out.
So, I may or may not try this Firehouse subs location again. The food preparation area was clean, the employees were friendly enough, and when I scrapped all of the steak to one end of the sub what I had was tasty. But there are better choices locally. I’m just not sure that this location is concerned about people my age, with kids, who want a good, filling sub that is worth the money paid. But if you want to go all freestyle mix-​master on your Coca-​Cola… this is your place.

Steamed subs… really? And if you put mayo on an Italian sub, its not an Italian sub. My order was stone cold within minutes and the steaming process makes the bun soggy and everything else a watered down mess. Even Subway has this place beat. Yuck.

Before supper tonight, I knew two things about Firehouse Subs: That every customer is greeted enthusiastically as they enter the door; and it’s famous for its cherry limeade. To say the Polaris location failed me on both accounts is a gross understatement. When my wife and I walked in, there were a few indistinct murmurs that I think were supposed to be a greeting, and the famous cherry limeade tastes like Cherry NyQuil. (I eventually added three times the number of suggested lime slices and it became palatable, but still left a medicinal aftertaste.)
Fortunately, the delicious pastrami sandwich saves Firehouse from one– or two-​star territory. I love pastrami, but it’s pretty hard to find at delis around here, save the amazing Katzinger’s. The sandwich is pretty great here, with a rich mayo and toasty bread. My wife loved her corned-​beef sandwich and commented especially on the quality of the brown mustard. I’m not sure but I think chips are the only side dishes offered; the selection is nothing special, similar to Quiznos with Miss Vickie’s kettle chips, which are top-​notch.
This isn’t really a comfortable place to eat, I didn’t think. Our table was soaking wet, as if it’s been cleaned and left to air-​dry. It felt kinda clinical with the black-​and-​white tiles. The staff were friendly but didn’t really seem like they quite had their stuff together. One weird note: I tried the men’s bathroom door and it was locked, and while I was waiting for it to open up, a male staff member exited the women’s restroom. I hope he was cleaning it.
Anyway, to sum up: Great sandwich, bad drinks, weird environment. If I get a hankering for pastrami and I don’t feel like driving down to German Village, I might give Firehouse another shot. But Jersey Mike’s and Penn Station will remain my sub shops of choice.

I ate here with my family a couple of months ago. I have a lot of thoughts about Firehouse Subs, so here we go…
They do yell «Welcome to the Firehouse!» at every person that comes through the door. On a Saturday afternoon, it gets old fast if you are dining in. After about 10 minutes I found myself mumbling under my breath «Oh shut up!». They only had one register open, on a Saturday afternoon mind you, with a line practically to the door. It took a long time to get our food and I was blown away by how long some people were waiting just to get to the register. Actually I’m thinking there may have only been one register in the place (someone correct me if I’m wrong on that one).
It does have a Coke Freestyle machine, which we had heard so much about. It was pretty cool but proved to be yet ANOTHER bottleneck in the restaurant. They only had one Coke Freestyle machine and that is where everyone gets their drink. So the line from the regsiter is running a couple of different ways through Firehouse Subs and then you have another line of people waiting to get their drink. These are probably not issues on a slower day — not good though at a busy time. OH! Almost forgot, if you have more than four people in your party, I would recommend finding another place to eat as there are only tables for four.
I had the Beef Brisket and thought it was good. Just good. For upwards of $ 10, I would have expected a little better. I would take Quizno’s anyday over Firehouse subs.
Not a bad place, but not a place I’ll be recommending to anyone either.

I’ve heard people talk about Firehouse Subs for a while, so I was excited to try it out. I’ll admit, it’s kind of creepy how they yell at each customer that walks in the door… and a bit distracting if you’re dining in. The girl working the register obviously has her job down pat as she breezed through the options. However, it was so quick that it was actually quite unfriendly. I was also a bit concerned about the guy sweating profusely while making subs. I went to the magical coke machine and was disappointed to see that my favorite (Minute Maid Light) was out. The food took a little while to actually come to our table, and even though I ordered before some people, I got my sub last. It was good, but nothing special. Nothing made it stand out amongst other subs that I’ve had from other sub joints.

At first — I wasn’t a fan. Another damn sub shop. Whatevs. «Welcome to the Firehouse» that sometimes sounds forced (If you asked a homeless man to do that, you know what he’d say? «Fuck you, man, that’s degrading!») — but the guys here are friendly!
Having taken a few lunches here — they’re pretty good! They’re not Subway — thank God — they have a bit more flavor in their subs (is that the fat Jared removes at Subway?)
It’s good — if you want a tasty sandwich, get one. The Italian sub is my goto.

Great sub chain that fits in the «gourmet» sub sub-​catagory. Fun place to visit with the the Firehouse theme. I love the Firehouse cherry-​limeade they have on the Coke «Freestyle» machine.
If you’ve never had a steamed sub this place will be a must try. Crusty rolls with plenty of deli choices of meat and cheeses, many different topping and sauces to add then steamed to a meaty, gooey awesome sub that melts in your mouth.
Of course you pay a bit more than your average $ 5 sub place. If this was closer to my casa I would be here weekly if not daily. Gotta give the chili a try on my next trip here. This location can be a bit of bear to get in and out of at times but, you’ll find it between 5 Guys and Mellow Mushroom on the north side of the parkway.

I LOVE Firehouse! I moved to Columbus from Florida so I was deprived for two years before this location opened up last year. I can’t get enough of their classic meatball on wheat, it’s much better than Subway for about the same price. The staff are friendly and the service is quick even when crowded. I seriously can’t say anything bad about this place.

«Welcome to the FireHOOOOOOUSE!» That’s what you’re greeted with when you walk in. We’d never been here before so we perused the menu a bit. I knew I wanted an Italian sub and the hubby was torn between the NY Steamer (I think that’s what its called, I just remember steamer was involved and made me laugh like an 7 yr old boy) and the Beef Brisket. He asked the two people which was better and the guy immediately said «Brisket and Cheddar!» and the girl said «but they are all equally good!» Gotta love a diplomat!
The guy was right, that brisket and cheddar was a-​may-​zing! I was jealous! My italian sub was really good but I wish I’d been told the mustard was a spicy mustard because there was one bite that tasted like horseradish or something and it resonated throughout my nasal cavity for like 3 minutes. So beware if you’re not a spicy mustard fan. Other than that, it was good. The meat was a little skimpy but you can get double meat for $ 2 extra. I think I’m going back to get that brisket and cheddar. MAN was that awesome!
It’s also fun to watch people’s reactions to the team yelling «Welcome to the firehooooouse!» Some laugh, some look around like «you talkin’ to me?», some look utterly confused. Sweet… built in entertainment!

So I came here on my way from the gym. I was about to go to Five Guys and get me a burger. Although I was thinking to myself that I could use something a little healthier. On my way there I noticed a red and yellow sign that said FireHouse Sandwiches. I figured that I could use a sandwich myself and besides they look like it would be very healthy.
I went in and I was greeted by the owner of the establishment Mr. Julian Goodman. We talked for quite sometime and shot the breeze for a bit. While waiting I notice how the sub buns were being steamed. This was very interesting to me. I then proceeded to order the Pastrami sandwich with just the meat and some spicy mustard. I did a combo and got the chips and the drink. The sandwich was pretty delisous. The staff is also very knowledgeable about all the sandwiches that are at your disposal. Will be there every Friday right after working out at the gym.

So I’m usually not one for reviewing chains but Firehouse is a small chain that is new to Columbus (maybe even OH) and it is good enough to have me review it.
My first exposure to Firehouse was the last day of my Christmas vacation to Southern Georgia/​Jacksonville so I was very excited to see one open near (ish) to my work.
Look and feel of Firehouse is fairly normal but Firehouse has a lot of fire fighter décor since it was started by fire fighters and they are very proud of that fact.
Both times that I have been to Firehouse I got the New York Steamer Sub that has corned beef brisket and pastrami and an array of toppings. The fact they have corned beef and pastrami makes me very happy though I won’t lie I was a little scarred it’d be dry and tasteless but I was wrong… very very wrong. The meat is moist and flavorful and seems to just melt in your mouth, but the italian dressing my help with the moistness. The bread is fairly typical and holds up to the meat and topping they pile on. Next time I go I am going to attempt to try something different and maybe sample one of the many hot sauces they have.
I highly recommend Firehouse if you are in the area looking for a good meal. Prices are decent and on par with other sub places around.