William Stilley – Firehouse Subs

Firehouse Subs has been open on the far end of the Kroger shopping center since Nov. 2.

“I was in the military in food service for about 11 years, and I wanted to go in a different path, and I went back to my roots, which was Firehouse Subs because I worked at one in high school in Jacksonville, Fla.,” said franchise owner William Stilley.

When looking for a place to settle and open a location, Stilley said he was between family in Middle Georgia, and he liked how the location was set up next to a shopping center, which he said reminded him of home.

He also discovered Perry is growing, and after some thought, he believed Perry deserved an establishment such as Firehouse Subs.

When he says “deserved,” Stilley doesn’t just mean good food at reasonable prices; he’s talking about what Firehouse Subs does for the community.

“I have been to Perry High School,” Stilley said. “I am supporting them as far as they have these water bottles, I’ve put my advertisement on them, banners for their football games, and also there’s a traveling volleyball team, and one of their players from Perry High School came in, and I’ll be sponsoring them through a donation to help them out.”

He said the restaurant is also a member of the Perry Chamber of Commerce and plans to be involved with events the organization has coming up. He has enjoyed those meetings so far and looks forward to being able to help out, he said.

Out of all the possible charities and organizations in Perry to support, Stilley said he’ll probably support the schools the most.

“I think schools are probably the biggest thing to me because it was Firehouse that gave me the opportunity when I was a junior in high school,” Stilley said. “I think the type of experience that you gain from this, I think that the high schoolers will be able to take that.”

Stilley’s entire night shift crew is comprised of high school students, he said, which gives them a great work experience opportunity.

“I think that there’s so much you can learn from here and gain in that amount of time than in other places,” Stilley said. “This is very fast paced and open, people are seeing you so you have to engage. You’re talking about communication skills, you’re talking about public speaking, you’re talking about team work, working with the crew.”

He said employees get to have responsibilities to make sure meals come out on time as well as handling money, working together as a team and working to please customers.

“Those are life skills they will be able to use. That’s why I tell them that whenever they leave I hope that when they walk out through these doors they have something to carry with them to their next adventure.”

It’s also given Stilley new adventures, challenges and learning opportunities. He said he’s learned how to stay cool, calm and collected the entire time he’s working, regardless of what may go wrong.

“You have to make a rational decision at any given time, whether it’s personnel, whether it’s finances, whether it’s decisions on the fly if something didn’t come in or didn’t happen,” Stilley said.

The company itself has been a big help in that, he said. Although it’s his first business and his first time dabbling in a franchise, he said he believes Firehouse has been very strong in supporting the franchisees.

“I’m comparing it to my time in the Army, and there are things I see that are mirrored when it comes to structure as far as support and the different departments of leadership,” Still said.

He said he thanks the city of Perry rallying behind the restaurant and hopes the people continue to offer their support.

He also said he hopes they look into and support the Public Safety Foundation, which takes change to support first responders.

“The Public Safety Foundation is the backbone and heart and soul of Firehouse Subs,” he said. “We ask, on every transaction, we ask the guest if they would like to round up, whether it’s pennies or quarters. We just ask them to round up because that change can help first responders.”

For example, after buying their food, the meal may cost $9.83. By rounding up, customers can pay an even $10, and the extra 17 cents will go into the Public Safety Foundation.

The money then goes toward a grant to which public safety departments such as police or fire can apply. Grants are sometimes even $10,000 or $15,000, he said, and may very well go toward helping save your life when you have an emergency.

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