Born in Jacksonville: Firehouse Subs, Fanatics, Jax Beer and Other Brands That Started Here

A sub shop started by two firefighter brothers. A sports-apparel store in the Orange Park Mall. A gas station on the Northside. A chocolate shop in San Marco.

All of them started in Northeast Florida, and some became national names. Here are the brands born in Jacksonville and St. Augustine, plus the big companies that call the area home.

Firehouse Subs

Started: Oct. 10, 1994, in Jacksonville Founders: brothers Chris and Robin Sorensen, both former firefighters

Firefighting runs in the family. The Sorensens' father spent 43 years with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. The brothers built the sub shop around that firefighting heritage.

It grew from one Jacksonville shop to more than 1,200 restaurants in 46 states, plus Puerto Rico, Canada and other countries.

In 2021, Burger King's parent company, Restaurant Brands International, bought Firehouse Subs for $1 billion. The company's headquarters is still in Jacksonville.

Fanatics

Started: 1995, in the Orange Park Mall Founders: brothers Alan and Mitchell Trager

Today, Fanatics is one of the biggest sports-merchandise companies in the world. It started as Football Fanatics, a single store in the Orange Park Mall that sold local team gear, mostly Jacksonville Jaguars merchandise, in the team's first season.

The Tragers grew it into an online business. It was later bought by Michael Rubin's GSI Commerce, and Rubin kept the Fanatics name after selling GSI to eBay in 2011.

Fanatics is now based in New York, and in December 2022 it was valued at $31 billion. It started with a few Jaguars jerseys in Orange Park.

Metro Diner

Started: in Jacksonville Family behind it: the Davoli brothers, Mark and John Jr., who bought the original diner in 2000

Metro Diner is known for its chicken and waffles and meatloaf. Its big break came in 2010, when it was featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

In 2014, when Metro Diner had nine locations, the Davolis partnered with restaurant investors Chris Sullivan and Hugh Connerty to expand. By 2018, it had opened its 50th restaurant, and it had 66 locations as of 2025. Its headquarters is now in Tampa.

Maple Street Biscuit Company (2012–2026)

Started: Nov. 8, 2012, in San Marco Square Founders: Scott Moore and Gus Evans

Maple Street served big Southern biscuit sandwiches and coffee in a cozy, community-table setting. It grew to more than 30 locations, and in 2019, Cracker Barrel bought it for $36 million.

This summer, the story took a turn. In July 2026, Cracker Barrel sold the chain to Kentucky-based Biscuit Belly, which is converting about 35 locations to the Biscuit Belly name and closing the rest. Conversions are set to begin in January 2027. Several Northeast Florida Maple Streets, including those in Jacksonville Beach and downtown St. Augustine, have already closed.

The original San Marco location on San Marco Boulevard was still listed as open in October 2026.

Gate Petroleum

Started: July 9, 1960, on Jacksonville's Northside Founder: Herb Peyton

Gate began as a single gas station. Today, it's one of Jacksonville's best-known local companies, with about 72 Gate stores, plus about 150 dealer-run fuel and convenience stores, as of 2021. Its headquarters is in Jacksonville's Sunbeam area.

Gate grew well beyond gas. Its businesses have included:

• the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, bought in 1983
• The Lodge & Club at Ponte Vedra Beach, 1996
• the Epping Forest Yacht Club, 1984
• the River Club downtown, 2004
• concrete, real estate and title companies

Peterbrooke Chocolatier

Started: 1983, in San Marco Founder: Phyllis Lockwood Geiger

Peterbrooke started as a small chocolate shop in San Marco, with chocolates handmade in small batches. Peterbrooke now has several Jacksonville stores and franchise shops elsewhere in Florida.

Whetstone Chocolates (St. Augustine)

Started: 1967, in St. Augustine Founders: Henry and Esther Whetstone, Florida natives

The Whetstones started by selling ice cream and fudge on St. George Street in the historic district, and they made chocolates in their home kitchen. More than 55 years later, Whetstone is St. Augustine's hometown chocolate maker.

Today, Whetstone has shops on St. George Street and Anastasia Boulevard and a chocolate tasting tour at 139 King St.

Jax Beer: the Jacksonville original

Here's one many people get wrong. You may have heard that Jax Beer came from New Orleans. There were actually two Jax beers, and one of them was brewed right here.

• 1913: William Ostner founds the Jacksonville Brewing Company at 1429 W. 16th St., in Jacksonville's Durkeeville neighborhood. Its flagship beer is Jax.
• 1935: A New Orleans brewery, the Jackson Brewing Company, also sells a beer called Jax. The two settle a trademark fight, and Jacksonville wins the exclusive right to sell Jax in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
• 1940: The Jacksonville company officially renames itself the Jax Brewing Company.
• 1956: It sells to its old rival in New Orleans, and the Jacksonville brewery closes. The New Orleans brewery keeps making Jax until 1974.

So if an older relative remembers drinking Jax in Jacksonville, there's a good chance it was brewed in Durkeeville.

Bono's Pit Bar-B-Q

Started: 1949 Founder: Lou Bono

Bono's has served pit-smoked barbecue in Jacksonville for more than 75 years. Its best-known location is the original pit restaurant at 4907 Beach Blvd. The Adeeb family later bought the business from Lou Bono, and Bono's now has locations around Florida.

Big companies that call Northeast Florida home

These didn't all start here, but they're headquartered here:

• Winn-Dixie: The grocery chain started in Miami in 1925, when William Davis bought the Rockmoor Grocery. The company moved its headquarters to Jacksonville in 1944, and the Winn-Dixie name came from a 1955 merger with the Dixie-Home Stores chain. It's still based in Jacksonville.
• CSX: one of the country's biggest freight railroads
• FIS: a financial technology company that processes payments and banking transactions
• Florida Blue: Florida's Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurer
• Landstar System: a trucking and transportation company
• Crowley: a shipping and logistics company
• The PGA Tour: headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, home of The Players Championship

By the numbers

• $1 billion: what Restaurant Brands International paid for Firehouse Subs in 2021
• $31 billion: Fanatics' value in 2022, 27 years after its first store in the Orange Park Mall
• $36 million: what Cracker Barrel paid for Maple Street Biscuit Company in 2019
• 1913: the year the Jacksonville Brewing Company was founded
• 66: Metro Diner locations as of 2025

Know another brand that started in Jacksonville or St. Augustine? Tell us at [email protected].