Five Guys

Five Guys Enterprises, LLC
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Private
Industry Food
Genre Fast casual restaurant
Founded 1986 (1986)
Arlington, Virginia, United States
Founders Jerry Murrell, Janie Murrell[1]
Headquarters Lorton, Virginia, United States
Number of locations
1,500[2] (2016)
Area served
Canada
France
Germany
Republic of Ireland
Kuwait
Netherlands[3]
Italy[4]
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Spain
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Key people
Jerry Murrell, Jim Murrell, Matt Murrell, Chad Murrell, Ben Murrell, Tyler Murrell[5]
Products Hamburgers, french fries, hot dogs, soft drinks, milkshakes
Revenue US$ 831.95 million[6] Decrease (2016)
US$ 92.94 million[6]Increase (2016)
US$ 57.68 million[6] Increase (2016)
Total assets US$ 393.29 million[6] Increase (2016)
Total equity US$ 244.48 million[6] (2016)
Number of employees
15,000[7] (2016)
Website fiveguys.com

Five Guys Enterprises LLC (doing business as Five Guys Burgers and Fries) is an American fast casual restaurant chain focused on hamburgers, hot dogs, and French fries, and headquartered in Lorton, Virginia, an unincorporated part of Fairfax County.[8][9] The first Five Guys restaurant opened in 1986 in Arlington County, Virginia, and by 2001, the chain had expanded to five locations throughout the Washington, D.C. metro area.[2]

In early 2003, the chain began franchising, beginning a period of rapid expansion. In a year and a half, permits had been sold for over 300 franchised locations.[2] As of 2016, Five Guys had over 1,500 locations open worldwide, with 1,500 locations under development.[2] The company was the fastest-growing fast food chain in the United States, with a 32.8% sales increase from 2010 to 2011.[10]

History

Five Guys was founded in 1986 by Janie and Jerry Murrell; Jerry and the couple's sons, Jim, Matt, Chad, and Ben, were the original "Five Guys."[1][11] The Murrells had a fifth son, Tyler, two years later. Today, all five sons, the current "Five Guys", are involved: Matt and Jim travel the country visiting stores, Chad oversees training, Ben selects the franchisees, and Tyler runs the bakery.[5] The first Five Guys was in Arlington's Westmont Shopping Center. Buns were baked in the same center by Brenner's Bakery. This location closed, in favor of another in Alexandria, at the intersection of King and North Beauregard Streets, which closed on September 21, 2013.

Countries with Five Guys (2018)

More followed in Old Town Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia, making five by 2001. Their success encouraged the Murrells to franchise their concept the following year, engaging Fransmart, a franchise sales organization. Former Washington Redskins kicker Mark Moseley, who had gone to work for Fransmart after his football career, played a key role in Five Guys' expansion and went on to become the company's director of franchise development after it ended its business relationship with Fransmart.[11][12] In early 2003 the chain began franchising, opening the doors to rapid expansion which caught the attention of national restaurant trade organizations and the national press. The expansion started in Virginia and Maryland, and by the end of 2004, over 300 units were in development through the Northeast. Over the next few years the chain rapidly expanded across the entire United States and into Canada, reaching over 1,000 locations by 2012.

The first location outside North America opened in the United Kingdom in July 2013, in London on Long Acre in Covent Garden, one day before the opening of Shake Shack's first UK outlet just 300m away.[13] The second location was in Reading, Berkshire. The chain now has 27 restaurants open across the UK.[14] Five Guys also has locations in the Middle East and has continued to expand in Europe. In March 2017 a location opened at Disneyland Paris' Disney Village, about 25 miles east of the Five Guys located on the Champs-Élysées. In late 2017, Five Guys opened its first restaurants in Germany, one in Frankfurt and one in Essen; two additional locations are scheduled to open autumn 2018 in Berlin and Munich.[15]

Five Guys Enterprises has several affiliated companies that are not part of a consolidated group, but are under common ownership. Five Guys Operations was founded in 2012,[16] and as of 2016, had an estimated $12.3 million in yearly revenue and approximately 259 employees. Five Guys Holdings was founded in 2007.[17] Five Guys Foods UK Limited was incorporated on 12 March 2013.[18] FGE International,[19] FGO International BV,[19] and FG Coöperatief U.A.[20] are based in Amsterdam. FGH International C.V. is located in Bermuda.[21]

The company has a 39,900 square foot headquarters in Lorton, Virginia, overlooking the Occoquan and Potomac Rivers, that was specially designed to convey the corporate brand. According to the architect, "The lobby mimics the typical Five Guys restaurant with red and white tile, tall tables, Freestyle Coke machine and signature peanut boxes."[22]

A Five Guys restaurant in Pittsburgh

The Five Guys menu is centered on hamburgers offered with American cheese or bacon, kosher style hot dogs, grilled cheese and vegetable sandwiches. Five Guys uses buns that are sweeter and "eggier" than normal buns.[12] Fresh-cut French fries are the sole side item, available salted only in "Five Guys style" or seasoned "Cajun style".[23]

Complimentary roasted in-shell peanuts are offered for on-site consumption at most locations, with signage alerting potential customers who may have a peanut allergy. Customers are not allowed to take peanuts outside the restaurant.[24]

For dessert, the chain sells milkshakes available with 10 different mix-ins. Customers can mix and match multiple flavors, and even add bacon to the shake.

The company experimented with offering coffee, but this was discontinued due to quality concerns.[5][25] Like other breakfast items, such as the BLT sandwich and bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, coffee is currently only offered in Five Guys's airport locations and its location near McPherson Square station.[26]

Restaurants

A Five Guys bacon cheeseburger

Bags of potatoes are sometimes stacked in customer spaces due to an occasional lack of storage space, or, in some franchises, for aesthetic reasons.[12]

Reception

Barack Obama orders lunch at Five Guys in Washington, D.C., 2009

Five Guys has received numerous awards in D.C. area publications, including "Number 1 Burger" by Washingtonian Magazine for seven years. Former US President Barack Obama is reportedly a fan, buying lunch for himself and his colleagues at the Washington Five Guys branch in 2011.[27]

Since franchising, it has also received awards in other cities, including Amherst, Dubai, New York; Redlands, California; Annapolis, Maryland; Charlotte, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Huntington, New York; Charlottesville, Virginia; St. Louis, Missouri; Houston, Texas; Austin, Texas; Johnstown, Pennsylvania; State College, Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;[28] Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Virginia Beach, Virginia;[29] Jacksonville, Florida;[30] Youngstown, Ohio; Schererville, Indiana; Tucson, Arizona; Newburgh, New York and Hampton, Virginia.

The chain has something of a cult following[31] and remarkable brand loyalty. Five Guys has been rated one of the most talked-about burger brands online.[12][32]

As Five Guys continues to expand into the West Coast comparisons have been made with In-N-Out Burger, another generally similar fast food chain. Comparing the two chains in 2011, the Los Angeles Times noted that Five Guys' menu items are generally more expensive than In-N-Out's, they lack drive-throughs that In-N-Out is famous for, and are most often found inside shopping malls. The newspaper still conceded that by pricing its products higher, offering bigger burgers and building larger dining rooms, Five Guys could capitalize on the recent trend of mid-level places that offer more expensive products than fast food but cheaper than fancy restaurants.[33]

In 2012, Market Force Information, Inc. polled 7,600 fast-food consumers, and Five Guys ranked No. 1 in food quality and taste, service, cleanliness, and atmosphere.[34]

In 2011, Five Guys was ranked first in "Fast Food - Large Chains" and "Best Burger" in Zagat's annual Fast Food Survey.[35]

Criticism

Men's Health magazine stated on their web site that Five Guys' meals are generally considered unhealthy.[36] They state that a standard double patty burger, for example, contains 700 calories and 20 grams of saturated fat.[36] Men's Health also rated Five Guys' french fries as some of the most unhealthy food in America, saying that a standard large order of fries contains almost 1,500 calories.[37] The Center for Science in the Public Interest placed Five Guys' bacon cheeseburger, which it claims contains 920 calories, among its 2010 list of most unhealthy meals available at U.S. chain restaurants.[38]

In 2015, the Five Guys site stated that a bacon cheeseburger contains 930 calories and a large order of fries contains 1,314 calories.[39] Time Magazine added an order of Five Guys' french fries, which contains 1,464 calories to their list of "Top 10 Worst Fast Food Meals."[40]

References

  1. 1 2 Rosenwald, Michael S. (April 3, 2006). "Five Guys, Taking a Bigger Bite". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 10, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Five Guys Story". Five Guys.
  3. https://www.ed.nl/eindhoven/five-guys-opent-in-eindhoven~a394ceb4/
  4. https://www.milanotoday.it/attualita/five-guys-menu.html
  5. 1 2 3 Liz Welch (April 1, 2010). "How I Did It: Jerry Murrell, Five Guys Burgers and Fries". Inc. Mansueto Ventures LLC. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 https://www.google.com/finance?q=five%20guys&fstype=ii
  7. "Five Gys Burgers and Fries". Forbes.
  8. "Contact Us". Five Guys. Retrieved April 23, 2018. Five Guys Enterprises, LLC 10718 Richmond Highway, Lorton, VA 22079 USA
  9. Previous locations include 10440 Furnace Road Suite 205 Lorton, VA 22079, as stated by Contact Us retrieved on October 1, 2012 and archived on September 20, 2012, and 8390 Terminal Road Suite B Lorton, VA 22079 as stated by Contact, archived on November 28, 2006 and retrieved on October 1, 2012.
  10. "Wendy's dethrones Burger King but Five Guys grows fastest". March 19, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Number 1 with a Burger" (PDF). Restaurant Business. August 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 26, 2007. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Karen Weise (August 11, 2011). "Behind Five Guys' Beloved Burgers". BusinessWeek.
  13. "Five Guys v Shake Shack - restaurant review". The Evening Standard.
  14. Thompson, James (5 April 2013). "Dunstone fleshes out business with Five Guys launch in the UK". London Evening Standard.
  15. Mumme, Thorsten (18 May 2018). "Five Guys öffnet noch 2018 Filialen in Berlin und München". NGIN Food (in German). Vertical Media GmbH. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  16. "Five Guys Operations LLC: Company Profile". Bloomberg.
  17. "Five Guys Holdings, Inc: Private Company Information". Bloomberg.
  18. "Five Guys Foods UK Limited". Endole.
  19. 1 2 "Five Guys International BV". drimble.nl.
  20. "FG Coöperatief U.A." company.info. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  21. "FGH International C.V." Orvis Directory. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  22. "Five Guys Corporate Headquarters at Gunston Commerce Center, Building 3". R.W. Murray Company.
  23. "Menu". Five Guys. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  24. Myers, Dan (2017-01-19). "5 things you didn't know about Five Guys". Fox News. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  25. Monte Burke (July 18, 2012). "Five Guys Burgers: America's Fastest Growing Restaurant Chain". Forbes.
  26. So Good (July 24, 2012). "Five Guys Breakfast Reviewed". Huffington Post.
  27. Lisa Hannah Raven (April 4, 2014). "Uxbridge Five Guys Scheduled for June Opening". Get West London. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  28. "Press" (Press release). Newmarket, Ontario, Canada: Five Guys. Archived from the original on April 14, 2006. Retrieved April 17, 2006.
  29. "Virginia Beach Best Food & Dining". HamptonRoads.com. Landmark Media Enterprises L.L.C. Archived from the original on August 22, 2007. Retrieved June 26, 2007.
  30. "Jacksonville Magazine's The Best of Jacksonville 2007" (PDF).
  31. Southern, Keiran (2016-01-28). "Five Guys Newcastle restaurant could be on the menu for popular burger chain". nechronicle. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  32. Lisa Joy Rosner (March 14, 2011). "Best (Bad for You) Burgers". NetBase. Retrieved Nov 9, 2011.
  33. Sharon Bernstein (April 8, 2011). "Will Five Guys overtake In-N-Out?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved Nov 10, 2011.
  34. Hsu, Tiffany (2012-09-19). "Five Guys voted favorite burger chain, McDonald's near bottom". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
  35. Polis, Carey (September 6, 2011). "HuffPostZagat". Huffington Post. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  36. 1 2 "Five Guys". Men's Health — Eat This, Not That. 2008. Archived from the original on July 30, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  37. "20 NEW Worst Foods in America". Men's Health — Eat This, Not That. Archived from the original on January 14, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  38. Noah Galuten (May 28, 2010). "CSPI Releases Its Annual List Of The Fattiest Foods In America". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on May 30, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  39. "Nutrition Information" (PDF). FiveGuys.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 10, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  40. Gregory, Sean; Oloffson, Kristi (2009-06-18). "Top 10 Worst Fast-Food Meals". Time. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.