My name is Thakshila Muthugala and I’m the manager of Firehouse Subs St. Vital. I’m responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the store, ensuring that we deliver the best subs while maintaining the brand standards and prioritizing guest satisfaction, all while ensuring each team member have their own personal growth in the company.

I joined JFG back in 2022 when I was still in school, as a Team Member in Tim Hortons at Marion Street. Within about 6 months I was promoted to a Team Leader where I learned many skills such as hospitality, problem solving, task delegation, and guest satisfaction. It was in January 2025 I joined the Firehouse Subs brand as a trainee at Taylor location where I learnt the basics. As soon as the new St. Vital location opened, I started there as a team leader where I was able to put in the skills and experience acquired from Tim Hortons for the betterment of the new store. I did my best to learn, grow and develop my team alongside with me which helped me to move up to the Supervisor role in the store and eventually take over as the Manager. 

Firehouse subs brand is also about personal development, which gives me the opportunity to learn and grow every day, while putting me in charge of developing my fellow coworkers. The brand values also consist of giving back to the community, which is something you don’t see often through other franchises. 

Since St. Vital is also the neighbourhood I reside, it gives me pride that my job helps me make a difference every day. Helping one another and growing as a team is something I strongly believe. At JFG, your hard work and dedication is seen and valued, hence I try to give my very best every day to my own personal growth and experience while contributing to the betterment of the company. 

I started as a team member in this company and made my way to Manager in a timeline of 3 years. Within that time, I’ve had many hands-on learning experiences. Every day is a learning opportunity. As my experiences expands, I would like to move up in the company, learn more and maybe one day I would own my very own store (haha).

Ironically, even though JFG is my workplace I’ve also met some amazing individuals alongside who are now my very closest friends, even though some of them are not with the company anymore. I am grateful to have them in my life through my ups and downs, also grateful for JFG for seeing through such amazing personalities when it comes to building a team and giving the space for creating such amazing bonds.