Firehouse Subs pledges $25K donation after social media backlash from veteran

POOLER, Ga. (WSAV) – The company that owns Firehouse Subs has apologized after a Georgia veteran shared her family's negative interaction with a franchise owner on social media.

Brianna Lancaster and her mother Aimee Eisensmith, who are both veterans, visited the Pooler, Georgia, location on Veterans Day to take advantage of its special deal for vets and active duty military, according to Lancaster's Facebook post.

While there, Lancaster said the owner lamented how much money the restaurant was losing and that veterans were entitled. Lancaster and Eisensmith said name-calling followed and they were ordered to leave the restaurant.

"We've noticed over and over again, it's not just us," said Eisensmith. "This went on all day. It's gone on previously. This has just been his attitude toward Veterans Day in general, that's why we spoke up."

"My thing is there's a lot of homeless vets. They could've gone in there and been met with that attitude. There's people who are veterans that this time of year is hard for them. They could've gone in there and been met with that attitude."

In a statement to Nexstar's WSAV Thursday, the corporate ownership of Firehouse apologized for what it says was the "unacceptable experience" the family had.

"This experience is not representative of the proud work of our brand, our franchisees and thousands of team members nationwide who collectively served nearly 150,000 meals this Veterans Day as a token of gratitude to our local heroes," read the statement from Firehouse Restaurant Group.

"As an apology and to show our support to the Pooler veteran community, the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation has pledged to donate $25,000  to a local veteran organization that Ms. Lancaster has recommended," the statement continued.

The company didn't specify which organization would receive the donation.

WSAV spoke to multiple employees at the Pooler Firehouse location, and several said this isn’t the first time the franchise owner has received customer complaints. Some added that they’ll be looking for new jobs.