Polk County Restaurant Veteran Opens 1st Haines City Firehouse Subs

HAINES CITY, FL — Firehouse Subs has announced the grand opening of its new location in Haines City, 35902 Highway 27.

The restaurant is owned by first-time franchisees and Polk County residents Elysee “E” and Tessy Jean-Charles.

E Jean-Charles gained more than 30 years of restaurant industry experience working for another national restaurant brand, while Tessy Jean-Charles serves as a nurse practitioner at a local clinic. The husband and wife duo are the parents of two sons and one daughter.

“Owning a restaurant has been a dream of mine for the last three decades, and I am excited to open the first Firehouse Subs in Haines City,” said E Jean-Charles. “My wife and I welcome the community in and hope our restaurant becomes a place for families to make memories, enjoy a hot and hearty sub, and support local first responders through Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.”

The Haines City 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.

The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation has granted more than $1.6 million to public safety organizations in the greater Tampa area, including the Polk County Fire Rescue, the Tampa Fire Rescue and the Tampa Police Department. A portion of every purchase at any Firehouse Subs in the U.S. benefits the foundation.

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. This restaurant boasts a custom, hand-painted mural by Chief Mural Artist Joe Puskas, featuring a Haines City Fire and Rescue truck and two children picking up litter in a park using a red pickle bucket.

Since the opening of the first Firehouse Subs in 1994, Puskas and his team have painted more than 1,200 murals from his studio at Firehouse Subs Headquarters in Jacksonville.

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) organization has granted more than $71 million to hometown heroes in 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. Each restaurant recycles 5-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.