The renovated Firehouse Subs on University Boulevard South will reopen Wednesday. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
Published on August 7, 2025 at 2:57 pm
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One of Jacksonville’s first Firehouse Subs will reopen Wednesday in its original site on University Boulevard South, almost two years after a speeding car smashed into it and killed two people inside.
Early on Aug. 16, 2023, the driver of a BMW lost control heading north on University Boulevard South and crashed into the back corner of the Firehouse Subs building. The car ended up inside the building before bursting into flames.
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The city initially condemned the building, but officials at Restaurant Brands International, which bought the chain in 2021, said the store was renovated because fans wanted it reopened.
“The University restaurant is one of our most popular restaurants in Jacksonville, and we look forward to once again serving guests in the area,” the company said in a statement. “Our guests have been calling and asking us when we are reopening from the moment it closed as it’s such a staple of University Boulevard. We took our time to make sure the city made some improvements, and it also allowed us to completely redesign our restaurant to better serve our guests.”
Former firefighter brothers Chris and Robin Sorensen opened their first Firehouse Subs restaurant in Jacksonville in 1994. The restaurant on University Boulevard South was the fourth in the chain when it opened in 1996 at the western end of the University Center South shopping center.
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Restaurant Brands International now operates more than 1,200 Firehouse Subs across the country.
The company did not state the cost of the renovations to Store No. 4.
The renovation includes a new kitchen layout, but the restaurant’s decor still reflects the Sorenson family’s decades of fire and police service. It will be redecorated with gear donated by the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.
The decor also includes the original mural painted in 1996 by Joe Puskas, depicting three firefighters rescuing three jaguars from a roof — a nod to Jacksonville’s football team.
The restaurant will be open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. A safety measure has been added on the building’s University Boulevard side to help protect it if another crash occurs.
The landlord has installed a protective concrete wall on the south side of the building, and the city added flashing arrow signs along University Boulevard to warn southbound drivers of the curve on University Boulevard South.
