From Submarines to Sub Sandwiches
Meet Mark Motley, General Manager of Firehouse Subs №1
By Mae Velasco, HeroFuel® Reporter
At more than 1,000 locations, Firehouse Subs is blazing ahead in the sandwich industry. And while there are many restaurants across the nation, and even as far as Canada and Puerto Rico, there is only one original Firehouse Subs — the flagship of Firehouse Subs is in Jacksonville, Fla., and at the helm is retired Navy submariner, General Manager Mark Motley.
For some, being the general manager of the first Firehouse Subs may come with a lot of pressure, but Motley doesn’t think the kitchen heat is too hot to handle — after all, he is a Firehouse Subs veteran of nine years and he isn’t slowing down any time soon. Still, his veteran experience with subs goes way further back than that. But instead of submarine sandwiches, he worked on submarines.
He spent decades with the United States Navy, living, serving and cooking on submarines. During this time, Motley was not only able to feed a submarine full of men, even when they weren’t able to resurface for more ingredients or supplies for months, but he even had the opportunity to cook a meal for the President of the United States of America. (But we’ll get to those fun facts later.)
It may be hard to picture how U.S. Navy submarines and sub sandwiches go together, but to Motley, his experiences with both go hand-in-hand.
“You know, the guys I grew up with on the boats? They’re my brothers. I’d do anything for ’em and they’d do anything for me. We may not talk in forever, but they’re the same guys I met when we were 18 or 19 years old. We’re just not quite in the same shape,” Motley said. “That’s why I joined Firehouse Subs and that’s one of the biggest reasons [why] I stayed with them. It reminded me of my crew. It had a lot to do with the camaraderie I felt with this group, like I did with the guys on the boats. It makes your life a whole lot easier.”
Much like Firehouse Subs’ delicious, steamed sandwiches, pressure just helps Motley thrive. Even if it is the pressure to set the example for other Firehouse Subs locations.
“I’ve been called laid-back, which is true,” he said. “I don’t let it overwhelm me.”
And his management method seems to be working. In 2010, during Firehouse Subs’ “family reunion,” which other companies may call a conference or convention, he was awarded “Corporate General Manager of the Year,” which is given to the leader behind the best overall, top-to-bottom performing location. But did he expect it? Or was he surprised?
“Literally, how I got [the award] was my name was called off in the middle of an award ceremony surrounded by 800, 900 people. As for nervous? Everyone was like, ‘You never made any facial expressions,’ but I said, ‘You didn’t see my legs under the table.’ Yeah, surprised is a really nice way of putting it,” Motley joked.
Firehouse Co-Founders Chris and Robin Sorensen didn’t seem too surprised, though. Letting another person take the reins of their original restaurant may seem difficult for anyone, especially as the co-founders who built this dream, but they knew they could trust Motley.
“Mark has been a great asset to us over the last nine years. It’s especially cool that he is a submarine veteran from the Navy. I guess he was destined for sub life, one way or another,” Robin laughed.
“We are proud to have him work at our flagship restaurant — №1! We wouldn’t put just anyone there,” Chris agreed. “That restaurant sets the example for well over 1,000 locations, and Mark’s the man for the job.”
FROM FRYING FISH TO FEEDING THE PRESIDENT
Motley is pretty humble for a man who has been in foodservice since he was 16 years old.
“I was the kid in the back frying your fish or french fries. Nasty, disgusting job. I mean, it wasn’t bad, but it was greasy. You just walked out smelling like a big fish. That’s the easiest way you could put it,” he said.
After graduating high school, he joined the Navy, which he said was “kinda the family business,” as he was the fourth generation following in the footsteps of numerous uncles that served in the military, too. (Again, not surprising he fell in line with Firehouse Subs, considering the brand is all about supporting heroes and first responders.)
He spent 25 years riding submarines in the Pacific. During that time, he was part of a staff of seven that fed 130 men four times a day, breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight rations.
“A lot of leftovers in that one,” Motley said, thinking back on those midnight meals. “Which a lot of guys loved or really hated, depending on what it was earlier that day.”
Not to mention, they had to be resourceful, as oftentimes they wouldn’t emerge from the sea for about 90 days. In one deployment, it was a nightmare typical of one you’d find in your standard cubicle office — there were no coffee filters.
“So, we had to improvise the whole trip, and T-shirts worked wonders,” he said. “That kind of gives you a little glimpse. If you have to, you have to improvise quickly.”
And improvise he did. Motley’s leadership style had to evolve when he was stationed at a naval hospital where he went from having to serve a crew of 130 to being able to feed 2,000 on short notice. There, he had to relearn and adapt to equipment he didn’t have to use normally, find a way to fix things if people weren’t around to fix them, figure out what new things he could cook, and went from managing a team of seven to managing a team of 110.
“It’s a big difference because your leadership has to change depending on who’s working,” Motley said, discussing how his experience in life transitioned to his management role at Firehouse Subs. “It comes down to the same thing sometimes. It’s not as drastic, obviously, because I can run down and grab this or borrow this from that restaurant, but if it’s something…I have to improvise quickly, and it’s a definitely needed item, you just do it. If something is broken down or something is missing, you adapt and fix it as quickly as possible. It definitely helps, I’ll say that. Prior experience definitely helped.”
But how did that end up with him feeding the president?
“Actually, it was Jimmy Carter. That’ll date me, huh?” Motley laughed.
He was on the USS Los Angeles temporarily, after vacancies in the staff had different crew members pulled from other ships. One day, they got word that they were going to do something.
“No one knew what it was, but we ended up cleaning forever. Then we pulled out of port, and on the way out, the commanding officer says, ‘Here, we’re going to pick him up,’” he said.
“How I ended up feeding him was that Carter is an ex-submariner. Well, there’s never an ex-submariner. He was just no longer serving on board one. But he came on board and we were having lunch. Surprisingly, I was frying fish. I was frying shrimp. He decided he wanted to have what the crew was having. Normally, when you have the president, you try to give him a little preference on food choices, but he decided he wanted to have what the crew was having, and he had the fried shrimp. And that’s how I ended up feeding the president.”
From frying fish at 16 years old to frying fish for the president — talk about a full circle!
LIFE IS ABOUT NEVER STOPPING
Now, Motley’s day-to-day is at Firehouse Subs.
(Fun fact, he even has a favorite sub, because of course, we had to ask.
“The Smokehouse Beef & Cheddar Brisket.™ Matter of fact, I was talking about it with a customer right as you called!” Motley said.)
As soon as the morning starts, he lights everything up and gets his team to prep for the lunch rush, and all the while, he encourages his crew to have fun on the line.
“Keep the customers happy, get their food out and get it out hot. The happier they are, the happier we are. And if we’re having a good time doing it, it makes it all the better,” he said.
As a “Corporate General Manager of the Year” winner, he did have some advice when asked if he had tips for other managers. Motley encouraged people to enjoy their job, to surround themselves with people who want to succeed, and to never stop trying to better what they did.
And never stopping is truly Motley’s motto. Although decorated with many accomplishments, he considers his greatest milestones the birth of his kids and grandkids, marrying his wife, having his father pin on his chief’s anchors and other family-filled moments. This hardworking and humble Navy veteran and award-winning Firehouse Subs manager was able to accomplish all of these things by never stopping.
“Don’t stop. Literally, don’t stop. It’s a simple thought pattern. You stop trying, you stop wanting — you stop. If I stopped, I wouldn’t have the kids I have. They aggravate me some days, but I love ’em to death. [I wouldn’t have] the grandchildren I have. The love of my life. Would I have been able to climb Mount Fuji with my daughter when she was 12 or 13? Would I have been able to scuba dive in the Philippine Sea? Go to Jerusalem and sit on the beach? Go to Australia and see the Outback?” Motley said.
“Don’t stop wanting something. Don’t stop. It really is that simple. The things you can do if you try are amazing. Crazy sometimes, stupid other times. Believe me, I’ve been there, done them all and got a T-shirt for all of them. It’s been a fun trip.”
