Firehouse Subs opened its New Iberia location on South Lewis Street today.

The restaurant, which is touting its first-ever community design restaurant in Louisiana, is located at 901 S. Lewis St. and is owned by Calvin Hoge, Heather Pitts and Brian Hoge. 

The father-daughter-son trio opened their first Firehouse Subs restaurant in Alexandria in 2019 and acquired two other locations in Lafayette and Carencro in 2020. Prior to becoming franchisees, Calvin Hoge served the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot for two decades, Heathers Pitts was a nurse practitioner for over 10 years and Brian Hoge worked in the automotive insurance industry.

“We are excited to open up our fourth Firehouse Subs restaurant as a family and show the community of New Iberia what they’ve been missing,” Calvin Hoge said in a prepared statement. “It’s a joy getting to work with my daughter Heather and son Brian, and we hope our restaurant becomes a place where other families can gather and make memories.”

“Our restaurant will be the first in the great state of Louisiana to feature the new Community Design concept and we’re thrilled to be able to welcome in guests to enjoy the new design and our hot and hearty subs,” Heather Pitts added in the statement. “We’re also looking forward to making an even bigger impact supporting local first responders through the portion of every purchase that benefits Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.”

The new Community Design restaurant concept features enhancements made to provide a better dining experience for guests, in addition to a new back-of-the-house layout with a more efficient flow for crew members. The updated design of this new location has a repositioned ordering area and a designated space for Rapid Rescue To Go orders made through the Firehouse Subs app or website. The space also demonstrates the brand’s commitment to community, first responders, heartfelt service and quality food that satisfies. 

Complete with a drive-thru window, the New Iberia Firehouse Subs restaurant opens at 10:30 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. seven days a week. The restaurant offers subs to go through online ordering, call-in phone orders, third-party delivery or takeout service at the counter inside. 

These franchisees are dedicated to sharing the brand’s commitment to giving back through Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation, which has granted more than $38,700 in the greater Lafayette area. A portion of every purchase at any Firehouse Subs in the U.S. benefits the Foundation to help achieve its mission of providing lifesaving equipment and resources to first responders and public safety organizations across the country.

Firehouse Subs serves a variety of hot specialty subs, piled high with premium meats and cheeses that are sliced fresh daily in-restaurant and steamed together to bring out the ingredients’ natural flavors, served “Fully Involved” with fresh produce and condiments. In addition to its signature subs, the restaurant offers a variety of catering options from sandwich and dessert platters to salads and snacks to fuel any occasion.

Founded by former firefighting brothers, the restaurant décor reflects the founding family’s decades of fire and police service with gear and photos donated by local fire departments. It boasts a custom, hand-painted mural by Chief Mural Artist Joe Puskas, featuring a black and white scene of an antique fire truck sitting in front of the former Iberia Fire Company. Since the opening of the first Firehouse Subs in 1994, Puskas and his team have painted more than 1,205 murals from his studio at Firehouse Subs Headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida.

In 2005, the Firehouse Subs founders established the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation with the mission of providing funding, lifesaving equipment and educational opportunities to first responders and public safety organizations. The 501(c)(3) Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation has granted more than $62.5 million to hometown heroes in 49 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. Each restaurant recycles five-gallon pickle buckets, available to guests for a $3 donation to the Foundation. Donation canisters on register counters explain the nonprofit’s mission and collect spare change, while the Round Up Program allows guests to “round up” their bill to the nearest dollar. All funds raised benefit the Foundation.