Elliott Goldsmith '96 Sets Greenville on Fire with Firehouse Subs Restaurants
by Katherine Smoak Wood '88

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"Christ Church [School] helped me take the initiative to become a leader and my own boss. I loved being a part of something at Christ Church, like the soccer team and Honor Council. The school laid out a wonderful foundation for me."

Elliott Goldsmith '96 has recently become one of Greenville's newest
entrepreneurs by opening our very first Firehouse Subs franchise on December 14, 2002, on Mauldin Road. He followed with a second restaurant on Pelham Road in February this year. With the restaurant's eye-catching interior and friendly staff, Elliott's venture has attracted a huge client base, including regulars and newcomers.

Elliott didn't set out to be a restaurateur. "After I graduated from Christ School in 1996," he said, "I went on to Wofford. I graduated from Wofford with a degree in Finance on a Sunday, and reported the very next day, on Monday, to my first job at New South Communications in Greenville. I had a house and a roommate all lined up."

But by Tuesday all that had changed. "My first day at work I learned that I would be relocated to New South's branch office in Jacksonville, Florida," he recalled, laughing about what certainly could not have seemed so funny at the time.

In Jacksonville he took an apartment by himself and soon found himself eating out frequently. "There was a Firehouse Subs down the street from my apartment," he said, "and I wound up eating there a couple times a week." Soon he came to know the two brothers, both firemen, who started the company in 1994. "I watched the company grow, and I became very interested in it," Elliott explained.

As he began to think about obtaining a franchise, he learned that one of the requirements was to put in 100 hours with the company. So, Elliott worked from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. at his "day job" at New South, went home to change, and then worked from 6 p.m. till closing, and all weekend, at the restaurant.

But this investment of hard work soon paid off. "I left New South in June 2002 to go back to Greenville," he said, "and then I spent six months preparing to open my first restaurant." With the right to open as many as seven stores, he opened his second on Pelham Road in February and is currently scouting a Greenville location for a third.

When asked what Christ Church instilled in him, Elliot replied, "The confidence to start my own business! Christ Church helped me take the initiative to become a leader and my own boss. I loved being a part of something at Christ Church, like the soccer team and Honor Council. The school laid out a wonderful foundation for me."

It's a connection he honored this spring by assisting Othniel Lafitte '06 with his Personal Project entitled "How to Start a Successful Business." After all, it's a topic Elliott knows something about.

About the Author: Katherine Smoak Wood is a 1988 graduate of CCES. She is a partner in LinningSmoak Public Relations. LinningSmoak specializes in media, community and governmental relations, special events and marketing. Katherine is married to CCES graduate John Wood '79; they have three children.