Mike Hancock might be the American-born president of an American restaurant brand, but his Canadian credentials are hard to deny.
The Parkland, Florida native first moved north of the border as a defensive end for the Toronto Argonauts.
After an injury ended his CFL career early, Hancock earned an MBA from MIT Sloane School of Management and took a job as director of North America market planning for Burger King in 2013.
Five years later, Hancock was tapped to serve as chief operating officer of fellow Restaurant Brands International (RBI) franchise Tim Hortons.
As the current president of fellow RBI chain Firehouse Subs, Hancock oversees and supports 33 Canadian franchisees and owner groups operating a portfolio of 117 Canadian locations, and 16 Toronto-based head-office staff.
“My wife and I both love Toronto; we loved living there and being part of that community, and we go back quite a bit,” says Hancock from his home in Jacksonville, Fla., where Firehouse Subs was founded and is currently based.
Those Canadian-ties, Hancock says, were instrumental in growing the sandwich brand’s presence north of the border, an effort that Firehouse intends to ramp up in the months and years ahead.
Founded in 1994 by brothers and former firefighters Chris and Robin Sorensen, the first-responder themed fast-food franchise made its way to Canada in 2015, offering menu items and restaurant decor inspired by its fire station roots.
In the more than 20-years since Firehouse Subs has donated $100 million (U.S.) in life-saving equipment to first responders in Canada and the United States through its Public Safety Foundation. The brand also courts veterans and former first responders by offering them a $100,000 grant to open their first franchise.
“Many are not sure what the next step is when they finish their service,” Hancock says. “We like to say, ‘this is a way of serving after you’ve served,’ so they can support the foundation, while delivering great food for folks in their community.”
Hancock believes that its community-focused ethos, committed local franchisees, and hearty sandwich offerings will help Firehouse Subs succeed in Canada despite growing competition in the sandwich and fast-food sectors.
The Star recently spoke with Hancock about how his work for Tim Hortons informs Firehouse’s approach to the Canadian market, how the brand hopes to stand out in an increasingly crowded field, and why the recent cross-border tensions have been difficult for him — personally and professionally.
Is it true that you played professional football in Toronto?
Only if you count a few pre-season games with the Argos, which was the last team I played for before an old injury forced me to stop playing football.
How did you end up in the quick service restaurant industry?
My whole life I was a consumer and a fan of quick service, and coming out of graduate school in 2013 I was looking at different opportunities. At the time Burger King had a lot of hard-working, driven folks that I felt I could learn from. I really liked the culture, the company, and the product, and I just fell in love with the industry.
Were you planning to return to Canada?
It was more of a coincidence. When I joined RBI it was just Burger King, and they acquired Tim Hortons pretty soon after, but my wife and I were thrilled to return to Toronto. I knew Tim Hortons was a special brand in Canada, and one of the proudest things I’ve ever done careerwise was helping it through COVID.
So many folks depend on that brand, and the bar was so high to make sure we were protecting team members and guests. We were among the first to implement a lot of procedures that the industry followed. We helped move masks through our own supply chain — we actually distributed masks at drive-throughs in Alberta — and it always felt like more than a restaurant. There’s not a lot of brands that can impact a country in such a profound way, and that’s a big responsibility and a big privilege.
I feel like Firehouse is in many ways a young version of Tim’s, where you’ve got incredible brand love and a ton of work that’s being done to support local communities.
What is the Firehous Subs story?
It was founded in 1994 by two Jacksonville firefighters and brothers, Chris and Robin Sorensen. Their father Rob was actually a captain and worked as a firefighter for 43-years, so they had deep family ties. That passion is also what drove their philanthropic spirit. Many firehouses rely on donations and volunteers, and they wanted to find a way to support them.
Robin was the chef at the firehouse, and he developed some popular recipes and techniques, like steaming protein, which is something we still do that’s very unique in our industry. I think we’re the only major player that steams their meat, which gives it a juicy flavour.
The big, hearty, flavourful foods we serve are consistent with what you’d see in a fire station. And of course, you see it in the names of products like our “Hook and Ladder” sub, or our “Captain’s Club,” or “The Engineer.” When you walk in you might see bunker gear or axes on the walls or murals with fire fighters, and you’ll hear our members say “10-12, welcome to Firehouse,” so a lot of that culture is embedded in the restaurant.
We also have a financial-assistance program in both Canada and the U.S.; we give a $100,000 grant to veterans and former first responders to open their first restaurant — and 10% of our Canadian franchisees fall into that category — because we think they’re the best type of operators.
Why?
First responders and former military are willing to learn operations very quickly; the discipline and routine management that first responders have is unparalleled. They also have a very high EQ and are great at dealing with guests and team members.
When did RBI acquire Firehouse?
The family sold the business to RBI near the end of 2021. They were ready to move on, and I think RBI saw a tremendous opportunity, given that Firehouse Subs ranks number one in hot sandwiches, in guest satisfaction, and in supporting their community.
We felt there was so much growth that could be unlocked, and we saw opportunities to elevate the technology and create a more seamless and more digitized experience.
What kind of growth have you seen since?
At the time we were just under 1,200 franchises, and today we have around 1,360, including locations in Mexico, Switzerland, Dubai and Albania, and we recently announced that we’re entering Australia and Brazil soon.
Before the acquisition we had around 30 locations in Canada; we’re about to hit 117 this week, and we’ve got an even bigger pipeline for this year.
What makes this market unique?
Canadian franchisees perform exceptionally well from a unit economics standpoint, and I think there’s a lot of growth potential in this market.
It’s also a passion project for me, given the relationships I’ve built there.
In fact, about a third of our 33 Canadian franchisees are current or former Tim Hortons franchise owners.
These are hands-on operators; not big corporate entities that own 50 or 100 locations and hire someone else to run them.
These are people who care tremendously about their guests and want to build relationships in their community.
We’ve also been able to donate over $4 million to local Canadian firehouses, and something I learned from Tim Hortons is that Canadians are very generous; they donate the most out of any of our guests.
How are you staying ahead of the ample competition?
We’ve got excellent operators, our guest satisfaction is very high, our owners and team members are locals who know their guests by name — all of that is important to us, and I know from my experience with Tim’s how much that matters to Canadians.
They don’t want to just go anywhere for lunch; Canadians want to support businesses that are giving back.
We’ve cherry picked some of best Tim’s operators who have a track record of operational excellence, which I think gives us a huge advantage.
We’re also being intentional about growing at a thoughtful pace, making sure we’re not oversaturating markets.
How has the brand been affected by the trade war?
On both sides of the border there are certain items that are being impacted, and we’re working to localize as much as we can.
It certainly has an impact for our franchisees, and if we don’t move quickly there could be profitability and franchisee health impacts, so it’s something we’re watching closely and trying to address as proactively as possible.
What do you say to those that might avoid the American brand in support of buying local?
I would say our owners are local Canadians, many served as first responders in Canada, and these are folks that love the country as much or more than anybody.
Many of our products are locally sourced, and we’re looking to grow that further, so you’re buying local Canadian products from local Canadians, and if you round up your order or buy a recycled pickle bucket all that money is going to Canadian first responders, so you’re serving your community.
As an American who has spent a lot of time in Canada, what has it been like to see cross border relations deteriorate?
All I’ll say is I hope it’s something we can resolve quickly.
I have a ton of love for and lots of great friends in Canada.
Our countries have had such a special relationship for so long, and it’s obviously different now than when I was living there, but I hope things get resolved in a timely fashion.
