Firehouse Subs Pays Homage to Fallen Firefighter at Evergreen Park Grand Opening

EVERGREEN PARK, IL -- Evergreen Park will get a little hotter when Firehouse Subs celebrates its grand opening this Saturday, Oct. 29. The fast, casual dining eatery at 9204 S. Western Ave. will throw open its doors at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, with a ribbon cutting, games and giveaways planned throughout the day.

As with all Firehouse Subs locations, the decor pays tribute to the local fire department. Featured at the Evergreen Park location is a stunning, hand-painted, custom mural painted by artist Joe “Brush” Puskas . The mural features Evergreen Park fire truck pulling up to a burning house with an angel firefighter rescuing two children. The restaurant is also decked out with donated gear used by the Evergreen Park firefighters, including pipe poles, air tanks, coats and historic pictures of EPFD’s bravest.

In homage to Daniel Capuano, a 15-year veteran of the Chicago Fire Department and who also worked 16 years as a part-time firefighter/paramedic for the Evergreen Park Fire Department, the first 44 people in line will receive a free medium-sized sub sandwich. Capuano died in the line of duty in December 2015 fighting a warehouse fire in Chicago. Forty-four was his helmet number for EPFD.

The Evergreen Park location opened last month and is now “fully involved.” The franchise is owned by Orland Park-resident Omar Shaker, who grew up in the Evergreen Park area.

“Original Rainbow Cone and Evergreen Park were part of my childhood stomping grounds,” Shaker said. “I would hang at Original Rainbow Cone. Little did I know that I would one day own a business across the street.”

The Firehouse Subs franchise was founded in 1994 by former firefighting brothers Chris Sorensen and Robin Sorensen in Jacksonville, Florida, according to the Firehouse Subs website. The chain recently opened its 1,000th location and plans to have 2,000 locations across in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada by 2020.

In celebration of the 1,000th restaurant, the founders of Firehouse Subs are continuing the brand’s commitment to heartfelt service and public safety by donating $1 million to support the 1,000 Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Gift Campaign through the brand’s nonprofit, Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.

An AED was donated to the Evergreen Park Police Department as part of Firehouse Subs’ commitment to put an AED in every police car in America. Often the first responders to emergencies, police officers are frequently in a position to provide immediate assistance to a sudden cardiac arrest victim. Studies from the American Heart Association show use of an AED within three to five minutes of a victim’s heart stopping improves odds of survival by nearly 70 percent.

Mayor James Sexton will do the ribbon-cutting honors at 10:30 a.m. Then hang around for activities and giveaways planned throughout the day until 9 p.m. Saturday.

Firehouse Subs offers steamed sandwiches with fresh meat and produce that’s sliced daily, a Coke Freestyle machine and more than 50 complementary sauces.

Photo: Omar Shaker, owner of Firehouse Subs in Evergreen Park.