Firehouse Subs® Invites Guests to Experience the Newest Coca-Cola Freestyle

The future is at your fingertips – just reach out and touch it. Firehouse Subs restaurants across the country are rolling out the next generation of the Coca-Cola Freestyle beverage dispensing platform, making Firehouse Subs the first national chain to have the newest dispenser. Dubbed Coca-Cola Freestyle 9100, this upgrade embraces innovation and personalization in a whole new way, now letting guests select, mix and pour 175+ drink choices, creating more flavor options than ever before.

“At Firehouse Subs, we are always looking for new ways to delight our guests, and that’s exactly what Coca-Cola Freestyle 9100 does,” said Don Fox, CEO, Firehouse Subs. “Just as our crew members can customize any sub to our guests’ tastes, Freestyle 9100 allows guests the freedom to get the drink they are craving – whether it’s sparkling water, a sports drink, lemonade, tea or a sparkling soft drink – the way they want it. We’re thrilled that during our 25^th year in business, this nationwide rollout makes Firehouse Subs the only place people will always find the new Freestyle 9100 in 2019.” 

Firehouse Subs and Coca-Cola Freestyle have been partners in innovation for more than a decade. Firehouse Subs was one of the first restaurants to roll out the original Coca-Cola Freestyle in 2007, and Firehouse Subs is also the only place people can get the Freestyle-exclusive beverages Cherry Lime-Aid^™, Cherry Lime-Aid Light, Sparkling Cherry Lime-Aid and Sparkling Cherry Lime-Aid Light, served with fresh-squeezed lime.

Chris Hellmann, vice president and general manager, Coca-Cola Freestyle, said Firehouse Subs has been a great partner on the journey to bring consumers an enhanced Freestyle experience through innovation in new equipment.

“Choice and personalization are not fads – they're here to stay,” Hellmann said, adding that “Coca-Cola Freestyle is focused on contemporizing the beverage experience to give consumers even more options when finding the perfect drinks to pair with their Firehouse Subs.”

With its sleek design, superior interface, expanded drink selection and more, Coca-Cola Freestyle 9100 creates a revolutionary beverage experience for Firehouse guests.

• New Design: Coca-Cola Freestyle 9100 is the embodiment of retro-modern. The dispenser’s clean lines and bold colors point guests to the main attraction – the larger, high-definition display with improved touchscreen functionality.

• New Recipes and Seasonal Drink Offerings: An improved content management system allows Coca-Cola to release “digital recipes” over the air, right to the dispenser, surprising Firehouse guests with unique drink offerings like Team USA custom mixes, Fanta Halloween and Coca-Cola Holiday mixes. New brand choices include Orange Vanilla Coke and Sprite Lymonade, plus limited-time flavors of Minute Maid Lemonade.

“We've also built this platform with the future in mind,” Hellmann said. “We added microphones, speakers, optical sensors and a new equipment option that will eventually support the addition of drink categories not available on Freestyle today, such as teas and new varieties of juices.” 

“In addition to the enhanced experience for the customer, we are thrilled that with the technological advancements made, there are many operational benefits that allow our family of franchisees to seamlessly provide our guests with a positive experience,” Fox said. “With the rollout of the new Freestyle 9100 in our locations, the upgrades position Coke and Firehouse Subs as technology leaders in our industry.”

Beverage Digest named Coca-Cola Freestyle 9100 Best Technology Innovation for 2018. "FS9100 offers the highest-quality beverages to consumers with the choices they expect and an engaging experience,” the industry publication writes. “The new dispenser includes: artificial intelligence, real-time cloud connectivity, large high-definition screen with a dual display, optical and motion sensors, Bluetooth technology and more beverage options to choose from."

The dispenser also won an iF Design Award and Good Design Award, both considered to be among the world’s most prestigious design excellence programs.

“These awards validate both the exceptional design of Coca-Cola Freestyle 9100, which brings to life the brand’s heritage with a modern ‘wow’ factor, and our leadership and innovation in the dispensed beverage category,” said Eric Lewis, group marketing director, Coca-Cola Freestyle.

More than 115 Coca-Cola Freestyle 9100 dispensers are now available at Firehouse Subs restaurants in select cities across the country – including Richmond, Va., Mobile, Ala., and San Antonio, Texas – with a total of nearly 1,100 dispensers rolling out nationally by the end of the year. A complete list of Firehouse Subs restaurants that will have Coca-Cola Freestyle 9100 is below. 

The dispensers will launch in phases:

• Phase 1 (Available Now):
  • Alabama (Dothan, Mobile)
  • Arizona (Tucson, Yuma-El Centro)
  • Florida (Fort Myers-Naples, Gainesville, Panama City, Tallahassee, West Palm Beach)
  • Nebraska (Omaha)
  • Texas (Ada, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Sherman, Victoria)
  • Virginia (Norfolk, Richmond-Petersburg) 

• Phase 2 (Rolling out April 27-June 30):
  • Alabama (Birmingham, Montgomery-Selma)
  • Arkansas (Jonesboro, Little Rock)
  • California (Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco)
  • Colorado (Denver)
  • Florida (Jacksonville, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa)
  • Georgia (Albany, Columbus, Savannah)
  • Illinois (Chicago)
  • Indiana (Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, South Bend-Elkhart)
  • Kansas (Topeka)
  • Kentucky (Paducah)
  • Louisiana (Baton Rouge, Lafayette, New Orleans)
  • Maryland (Baltimore)
  • Michigan (Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing)
  • Minnesota (Minneapolis-St. Paul)
  • Mississippi (Biloxi-Gulfport, Hattiesburg-Laurel)
  • Missouri (Kansas City, St. Louis)
  • North Carolina (Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Wilmington)
  • Ohio (Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton)
  • Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, Tulsa)
  • Oregon (Eugene, Portland)
  • Pennsylvania (Eerie, Pittsburgh)
  • South Carolina (Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Myrtle Beach)
  • Tennessee (Jackson, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville,)
  • Texas (Austin, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Waco-Temple-Bryan)
  • Utah (Salt Lake City)
  • Virginia (Charlottesville, Harrisonburg)
  • Washington, D.C.
  • West Virginia (Clarksburg-Weston, Parkersburg)

• Phase 3 (Rolling out July 7-Sept. 29):
  • Alabama (Huntsville)
  • Arkansas (Fort Smith)
  • California (Fresno-Visalia)
  • Colorado (Colorado Springs)
  • Connecticut (Hartford, New Haven)
  • Georgia (Atlanta, Augusta, Macon)
  • Indiana (Lafayette)
  • Iowa (Davenport, Des Moines-Ames, Sioux City)
  • Kansas (Wichita)
  • Kentucky (Louisville)
  • Maryland (Salisbury)
  • Michigan (Flint Saginaw)
  • Missouri (Joplin-Pittsburg)
  • New York (New York)
  • North Carolina (Raleigh)
  • Ohio (Cleveland)
  • Pennsylvania (Harrisburg)
  • South Dakota (Sioux Falls)
  • Tennessee (Chattanooga)
  • Texas (Amarillo, Lubbock, Odessa-Midland)
  • Virginia (Roanoke-Lynchburg)
  • Washington (Seattle-Tacoma)
  • Wisconsin (La Crosse-Eau Claire, Madison, Milwaukee) 

• Phase 4 (Rolling out Oct. 6-Dec. 22):
  • Arizona (Phoenix)
  • California (Bakersfield)
  • Idaho (Boise, Idaho Falls)
  • Illinois (Champaign, Peoria-Bloomington)
  • Indiana (Evansville)
  • Iowa (Cedar Rapids)
  • Kentucky (Bowling Green, Lexington)
  • Louisiana (Monroe-El Dorado, Shreveport)
  • Maine (Portland-Auburn)
  • Massachusetts (Boston)
  • Mississippi (Columbus, Jackson)
  • Missouri (Columbia, Springfield)
  • Montana (Butte-Bozeman)
  • Nebraska (Lincoln)
  • Nevada (Las Vegas, Reno)
  • North Dakota (Fargo-Valley City, Minot)
  • New York (Buffalo, Syracuse)
  • Ohio (Toledo)
  • Oregon (Medford)
  • Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
  • Texas (Abilene-Sweetwater, El Paso, Harlingen, Laredo, San Angelo, Tyler-Long View)
  • Washington (Spokane)
  • West Virginia (Charleston)
  • Wisconsin (Green Bay-Appleton)