Sixth Guy

Acting presidential:

2011-05-02T12:49:00.001-07:00

According to this, former Utah Gov / U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman Jr., a legitimate contender for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, made a visit to Five Guys his first action on retuning home from Beijing.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700131632/Jon-Huntsman-Jr-hobnobs-at-Washington-dinner.html

He clearly has noticed the White House / Five Guys connection-

LA Times on Five Guys v. In-N-Out

2011-04-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

The LA Times weighs in on the building 5G / INO battle:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-five-guys-20110408,0,7319175.story

"Now there are 27 (Five Guys) in the state, but Five Guys has sold the rights to open 200 more in Southern California alone — nearly double the number operated here by In-N-Out."

This Burger War may need peacekeepers. I volunteer.

Five Guys is fastest growing chain

2011-03-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

According to market research firm Technomic Inc, Five Guys Burgers and Fries was the fastest-growing restaurant chain in 2010.

The estimate of 5G's sales - $625 mil - was not near the top, but their 38% increase in sales, and 35% increase in stores, was. The second fastest grower was Jimmy John's, with 22% and 20%.

Although this growth seems almost designed to prevent me from my epic goal of visiting every single guysguysguysguysguys, I congratulate them. I guess.

Breakfast!

2010-10-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

As far as I know, the only 5G locations serving breakfast are the two at the DC airports, Reagan and Dulles.

I'm eating one now. They serve egg sandwhiches, but you can add a patty for $1.

It sure is tasty.

Strategic Hamburger Reserve? Yes, please.

2010-09-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

http://www.beltwaybeef.com/2010/09/maybe-well-need-to-start-strategic.html

2010-09-03T14:15:00.000-07:00

I am a bad blogger.

It's been so long.

But here is some news: Five Guys now has 667 locations in the US and Canada. I have been to 77 of them. Their growth rate, and my visit rate, mean that I should visit everyone, as is my goal, on the 3rd of June, Two Thousand and never.

A little trivia:

2010-07-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

In the 5G in Idaho, they don't just list the city and state, they list the farm the potatoes come from.

(I suppose, once more stores open in Idaho, someday the white board might just say "Today's potatoes are from: Here.")

Burger news from the AP

2010-07-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

Appetite for "better burgers" shows no satiety

By MATTHEW BARAKAT (AP) – 20 hours ago

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — With a drive-through seemingly on every corner, you might think the market for burgers long ago reached saturation. But the fastest-growing restaurant chain in America last year was Five Guys, which specializes in double-pattied behemoths the size of a softball.
And that's just the tip of the arugula. So-called "better burger" joints are one of the fastest-growing parts the restaurant industry. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay launched Bobby's Burger Palace in the Northeast. Elevation Burger is expanding into Kuwait. Mooyah Burgers & Fries, Meatheads and the Shake Shack are looking to expand.
Higher-grade beef, fresher or more creative toppings, and better buns are bringing customers in the door.
The Washington, D.C., area has emerged as fertile ground for ground chuck. Five Guys, the earliest success story, is based in Lorton, Va., Elevation Burger in Arlington, BGR-The Burger Joint in Lansdowne.
Ray's Hell Burger, also in Arlington, is not a chain, but the restaurant run by iconoclastic chef Michael Landrum earned a national profile with President Barack Obama taking Vice President Joe Biden and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev there last month. (Medvedev's review: "Not quite healthy, but it's very tasty.")
It's a market that has room to grow. Such chains represent only about 2 percent of the $65 billion burger market, said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Chicago-based restaurant consultant Technomic.
"The traditional players — McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's — have really shifted their focus away from burgers to breakfast, chicken and beverages," said Tristano. He predicts better burger chains will continue to have double-digit sales growth for at least the next few years.
The founder of Denver-based Smashburger, fast-food industry veteran Tom Ryan, was keenly aware that Americans were hungry for higher-quality fast-food burgers.
The company did extensive research with fast-food customers who reported that the burgers they ate were mostly a matter of convenience. "'It's not the burger I crave; it's the burger I use,'" Ryan said. Smashburger has expanded to 70 stores in 15 states in just three years.
Customers are willing to pay to ease that craving. A Five Guys burger runs anywhere from $4 to $6, and some charge more.
Five Guys, like others, sells the fact that its burgers are never frozen — the stores don't even have freezers, only coolers. Elevation Burger uses organic, grass-fed beef and sells fries cooked in olive oil. BGR uses a mix of dry-aged beef.
Despite recent success of better burgers, one of the oldest names in the business has fallen on hard times. Fuddrucker's filed for bankruptcy protection in April. Tristano said he thinks Fuddrucker's problems resulted from large restaurants with high real estate costs.
By contrast, most of the successful better-burger operators locate in low-cost strip malls. It can cost less than $500,000 to open most better-burger franchises, a third of a McDonald's or Burger King.
Mark Bucher, the founder and vice chairman of BGR The Burger Joint, said he sees room to expand slowly. He plans to keep BGR in the Mid-Atlantic region for now. Bucher says he's been through this before, as a major player in the bagel boom of the '90s, which eventually lost steam.
"The gourmet burger industry will be survival of the fittest," Bucher said. "Those companies that are getting into the business now are five years too late."
Five Guys' sizzling expansion had a long prep time.
"It isn't anything we wanted to do. We just kind of got pulled that way" after would-be franchisees continually pitched the concept, founder Jerry Murrell said. He opened his first store in 1986, and through 2001, the company expanded to just five locations — one for each of Murrell's five sons.
Murrell didn't think Five Guys' cooking lent itself to easy replication. The potatoes were flown in fresh but often had slightly different starch contents that required tweaks in cooking times. Burger patties are always hand-formed.
After expanding regionally for a few years, the company began a national expansion two years ago. In 2009, Sales jumped 50 percent to $453 million, making it the fastest-growing restaurant with sales over $200 million, according to Technomic.
Murrell relishes the competition.
"If I were choose between opening in a town with 100 burger places and one with none, I'd go to the place with 100 burger places. People eat burgers in that town," Murrell said. "I like being next to McDonald's."
A glance at a few of the burger chains in the D.C. area and across the nation that have expanded in recent years, and their plans for future expansion:
Elevation Burger: First location opened in 2005 in Falls Church strip mall. Opened eighth location in Potomac, Md., last month. Expects to have 15 to 20 locations open by the end of the year, with up to 100 in the next few years. Also opening five stores in Kuwait.
Five Guys: Opened first store in Arlington in 1986. Operated five northern Virginia locations through 2001. Expanded with franchise agreements through Mid-Atlantic region beginning in 2002. Expanded on a national scale beginning in 2008 and now has more than 600 locations.
Smashburger: Opened first store in 2007 in Colorado and expanded quickly, with 70 current locations. Expects to have 100 by the end of 2010, and add 100 to 150 stores annually for the next two or three years.
BGR — The Burger Joint: Opened first store in Bethesda, Md., in 2008. Now has four locations in the metro D.C. area. Founder Mark Bucher has plans to expand slowly in the greater D.C. region.
Mooyah: Opened first location in Plano, Tex., in 2007. Now has more than a dozen locations in Texas. Company is expecting to double number of stores in 2010 and has plans to expand outside the state.
Meatheads Burgers and Fries: Opened first store in Bloomington, Ill., in 2007. Now has four locations in Illinois. Plans to expand to roughly 25 locations in the Chicago area in the next two to three years.
Shake Shack: Began in 2002 as a New York City hot dog cart and opened its first burger restaurant in 2004. Now has four locations in New York City and Miami Beach and expects to have seven by the end of the year.
Bobby's Burger Palace: Opened first restaurant in 2008 on Long Island. Five locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New York. Recently announced plans to expand into the Washington, D.C. market.

It's a tie!

2010-06-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

I finally visited the Dupont Circle Five Guys yesterday. This means I've now visited every 5G in DC, and all but one inside the Beltway. (And I plan on hitting College Park this weekend.)

Current count: 74

Special note: I took the Metro over, and the Dupont circle station escalator was out. Even given this nagging from the Nancys over at CSPI, walking up the escalator made the lunch a net zero calorie gain.

600 Five Guys locations, and counting.

2010-05-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

So, that's 3,000 guys, right?

From the 5G corporate Twitter account:

"We just opened our 600th location!!!! Lincoln, NE that's you! Find our newest location at 1230 P Street, Lincoln, NE 68508. Go there now!"

Five Guys on Food Network

2010-05-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

The Food Network's "Unwrapped" is mostly a commercial, and sometime blatantly so, but usually watchable anyway. The last episode included a segment on Five Guys. Since Unwrapped is produced in Colroado, it featured the store in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which I have been to. (It is store #369 and I was there last August.)

The show will be rerun:

May 13, 2010
11:30 PM ET/PT
May 14, 2010
2:30 AM ET/PT

Set your Tivo.

A quick note on the store #s:

2010-04-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

Five guys stores were numbered according to the order they opened. But last year they reserved #500 - #999 for corporate owned stores, and resumed numbering franchises at #1000.

I am pleased they are keeping some stores corporate, as it keeps HQ closer to the burgers, in my opinion.

I might even vote for this guy...maybe...

2010-02-26T14:04:00.000-08:00

According to this and this, Michael Pipe, a recent graduate from Penn State, and (more importantly for our purposes) current assistant manager at Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries, is currently running for the Democrat nomination in Pennsylvania's 5th Congressional District.

I have a little bit of an interest in politics, and a huge interest in Five Guys, so this is a nice combination for me. The 5th is a very large district in northern central PA, and the current representative (a Republican) is in his first term. Apparently, Ass't Manager Pipe worked for the Obama Campaign in 2008, and now wants to ring doorbells for himself.

There appears to be only one Five Guys in the district, and that is the one in State College (State College, 226 W. College Ave., State College, PA) so I am guessing that is the one that employes our aspiring candidate. Good for him. A grease soaked bag of fries in every home!

A few things

2010-02-16T08:09:00.000-08:00

I've been slow lately on store visits. Just 1 in January and 4 so far in February. The problem I am running into is that the nearest store to me that I have not yet been to is an hour drive away. An hour there, 1/2 hour to eat, hour back - I don't have a lot of 2 1/2 hour free spots in my days. So I think the plan will be to move away from lunch time visits and start more field trips where I get two or three at time.

I am pleased to see that the online survey extended past the 12/31/09 deadline first listed. I figure I've done about 30 so far. Some day, I'll win that $25 gift card.

I revisited store number 2 (Now the oldest location - see here) last weekend. Although it is the closest store to me, I haven't been there in awhile, and when I started my quest to visit all the stores I thought I would hold this one back for another visit until some significant came along. It turns out, 3 feet of snow, kids who have had school cancelled for 7 days now (and counting) and no other nearby store is pretty significant.

Five Guys opened store number 569 yesterday. I have visited 64 locations. I am falling behind.

Manhattan Burger Battle

2009-12-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

Friends, I have to tell you: I am a little disturbed. Here's why:

My wife had business to attend to in NYC, and I went along, planning my own business - Burger Business. I wanted to try Shake Shack, which I have heard so much about on the Burger Blogs Circuit, and then follow it up with a NYC Five Guys, as a taste test.

I wanted it to be a clear victory for the Guys. I wanted affirmation of my faith. I wanted to not like Shake Shake too much.

These things did not happen.

If you know about Shake Shack, I don't need to tell you. If you don't, see here, here, and here. And go there.

Here is my official Shake Shack review:

Holy Crap, that's a tasty burger!

It was love at first bite. Wonderful flavor, great crust, lovely bun, great toppings. (They fit, for instance. Nicely sized.) The store was clean, the line that I have heard so much about was fast, and I got in and out in under 15 minutes or so. I ate on a bench outside the American Museum of Natural History, and it was a transcendent burger experience.

I killed some time looking at dinosaur bones, then went to Five Guys, on West 55th Street. I knew that this was going to be tough for the Guys, but I had hopes, and faith. 5G is a magnificent burger, and while it may not blow Shake Shack away as easily as others, certainly it could hold its own, right?

Eh.

This would be, of course, the first time I've ever had problems with a Five Guys. This location was worse than any other I have visited. Maybe it is NYC, but having just had proof of how nice a place could be, I can't give it a pass for that. The line was shorter but took longer to move through. The store was dirty and cramped. The burger was its normal 5 Guys good, but I couldn't help but notice that the toppings were oversized - the lettuce and tomato just didn't fit right. Also, the burger cost $2.50 more. This extra pays for bacon, though, and I do like bacon.

So. Shake Shack is really really good. I add my voice to the chorus there. Also, at least one 5G in NYC needs a little work. I'm certainly not off the 5G bandwagon, and not just because there are no Shack Shacks anywhere near me yet (apparently they are planning 20 up and down the East Coast in the next 5 years).

NYC Face Off!!!

2009-12-23T09:38:00.000-08:00

I'm in Manhattan for the day, for Serious Burger Business. I'm going to try a Shake Shack and a local 5 Guys back to back. And declare a winner.

I'm at the Columbus Ave Shack, waiting for my double Shack Burger. The line to order was only about 4 min. Its crowded but moving fast. Very nice staff. Almost bought The Baby a onesie.

After this, I am heading over to the 55th St 5G. I'll post the photos and report tonight.

I can tell you now I start biased for 5G, but I'll keep an open mind.

A little Five Guys History - the Original Five Guys location

2009-12-09T11:40:00.000-08:00

I will always regret never visiting the original Five Guys location. I moved to Arlington, Virginia in 1997, and had a couple years in which I possibly could have done so, but I had never heard of the place (it was pre-blog times, and nobody could have shared with me Important Burger News electronically, like they can and do now) and now the location is closed and gone, part of burger legend.

The first Five Guys opened in 1986, in the Westmark strip mall (3235 Columbia Pike, Arlington, Va) at Columbia Pike and Glebe Road in Arlington, Va. Over the next 13 years, 4 more locations opened. In 1998, the original location closed. In 2002, Five Guys started franchising, and now there are over 500 stores - but no mothership, no high temple, no ground zero for 5G fans. (I guess the second store, at 4626 King Street, Alexandria, VA, should assume that role now.)

I went by the original location last week, just to see what I could see. It is now home to a "Dave's Seafood & Subs" The owner said he had assumed the location from his cousin, who ran a store there for just a few months in 1998 after the 5G closed. His place has been open 11 years - almost as long as the original 5G, so good for him. (I don't think he will be franchising, however. But try the sweet tea.) I asked if anything in his store was left over from 5G, or if he had any interesting information about assuming the same space first used by a national chain, but he had nothing to share. Bummer.

Some photos of the location as it is now-

I can not find any pictures to link to of the place as it was. If you know of any, please share.

What is now a car parts store next door used to be an H&R Block, and before that it was a Brenner's Bakery. That bakery used to provided ALL the buns for 5G. The Arlington Brenner's closed on December 31st, 2001. It was owned by family members of the other Northern Virginia Brenner's Bakery, which is in Alexandria. Although the Alexandria store is no longer owned by the Brenner family, and no longer provides all the buns, the person I spoke with there said they do provide for some of the local locations, and also sell the buns in the store. So I am going to go get some of those for home use. (Post to follow, of course)

Since I am forever denied talking about what it was like to go to the first 5G, I solicited reminiscences from a friend, who lived down the street from it and did go. Here is his account:

"I moved to Washington in May of ’97 and lived in an apartment on Columbia Pike right off of 395. As a restaurant junkie I would go around and try to find restaurants I might like. I wasn’t aware of what 5 Guys was or hadn’t gotten to the word of mouth moment. The original was located off of Glebe Road and Columbia Pike tucked out of sight on the Columbia Pike side in a not very nice strip mall. There was a mattress store, a video store a little hole in the wall restaurant named Mom’s that is still there and the bakery next door.

The inside was fine, but felt like a short order place. They had the peanuts and the white and red paint scheme. I want to say they also had the peg board with index cards. It had the smell of peanut oil and grease. There were no places to sit and it was pretty confined, but there was always a line. However, with the peanuts, it just felt like waiting was part of the experience.

Like ninety-something percent of their customers, it took one bite and I was hooked.

A friend of mine who also had moved out here was trying to get into Officer Candidate School and needed letters of recommendation from military officials. My friend was in Durango, Colorado talking to a retired General and told him about living on Columbia Pike. The General told him a story about the best hamburgers he had ever had off of Columbia Pike. My friend was accepted and at the point I knew this place had a real following. If only I had thought enough to try and get in on a franchise early." (Thanks, Jon.)

So, a little trip down Memory Lane, sadly reflecting on what I missed.

Taking the Burger War to In-N-Out

2009-12-03T08:03:00.000-08:00

I don't consider In-N-Out to be the second best burger chain in the US (that would be Steak 'n Shake. INO is 3rd. Five Guys is, of course, #1.), but they are the winner in their region. And they have a very loyal and fanatical following. So I eagerly anticipate the Burger Wars that will begin with the large-scale movement of 5G into California.

There are currently just three 5Gs in California. This article in the OC Register mentions they are planning a further 300 locations in the Golden State, and the many of them will start appearing next year. INO only has 232 locations in 4 states, so 300 5G in just California is going to be intense. I've had both burgers, in the same weekend, and I have no doubt the winner will be wrapped in foil and served in a greasy brown bag.

Live Blog!

2009-11-24T10:48:00.000-08:00

I'm at lunch at the new Bethesda 5G, which just opened last week. It is listed as store number 1023. I guess they switched to 4 digit numbers, and not just straight counting. (Since they have around 510 stores total.)

Here what I ordered on my bacon cheeseburger: bacon. Yep. Extra bacon counts as a free topping. Should be nice.

News update: Finacial Times on Five Guys

2009-11-24T06:15:00.001-08:00

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/e973cd44-d567-11de-81ee-00144feabdc0.html

Regional Differences?

2009-11-18T15:30:00.000-08:00

I visited 2 5Gs in Idaho over the weekend, and I believe I have encountered my very first case of regional differences between the various franchises:

Fry Sauce!

It was in one of the pump canisters, where normally there are two ketchup. I bow to the Idaho potato expertise; if they think fry sauce in necessary on fries then so do I.

Now, I have only been to 53 stores, in 9 states, so the other 450-odd stores my have other regional differences. anybody aware of any others?

50th!

2009-11-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

This week I visited my 49th 5G - a new one at 14th and I in DC - and my 50th, in Ashburn, Va.

They still taste as good. No burn-out yet. And I still start thinking, about halfway through the burger, about when I am going to get the next one.

The new 5G in DC is listed as store number 1001. I am going to see if I can get an explanation as to why certain stores get the out-of-sequence numbers. For instance, Tampa has a store #5000, and Nationals Stadium in DC has store number 5001. All the others appear to be between 2 (#1 was the original and has since closed - more on that in a later post) and whatever # they are up to now, 500 and some.

Also, I remembered that this new store should have been the 118th within 100 miles of my home, according to their webpage store finder, but when I checked this morning it was 115. I guess that means they have lost a few stores recently. I can only find proof of one store closing so far, but I will investigate.

Typing that last sentence made me feel kinda geeky. Maybe I am taking this 5G thing too far?

Nah.

500th!

2009-10-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

Five Guys restaurant #500 just opened: 1233 N. Eddy St. #110, South Bend, Indiana.

Does anybody live near by, and own a camera?

They opened store #400 on March 19, 2009, so 100 stores in 7 months.

I need to start eating more.

2009-10-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

The 499th Five Guys just opened, coincidentally in my hometown of Aurora, Colorado. Where will the 500th be? For fans like me, this is very exciting stuff!

Five Guys in the news-

2009-10-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some good articles if you want some 5G background info:

USA Today, June 2009

AOL Small business interview with Founder, June 2009

QSR, July 2007

Washington Post on expansion, April 2006

Washington Biz Journal, pre-expansion, Nov. 2002

Current Five Guys store count

2009-10-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

According to http://twitter.com/Five_Guys, they now have 494 stores. I wonder if they have a 500th Store Opening Party planned? It should happen this month or early next.

If they don't, I'll have one. You can come, too. We'll go to the oldest store, #2, in Arlington. Stay tuned for updates.

Just two away...

2009-10-12T11:48:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I started this blog because I am just two store visits away from eating at 50 Five Guys (henceforth also 5G). This will be a minor checkpoint on my path towards the goal of visiting all stores, but one that requires celebration. I expect to hit 50 in a week or so.

Look, I said "I" or "my" four times in that paragraph. A good start to blogging!

I think they have added more than 50 since I started this campaign in January anyway. They are opening them faster than I am visiting - the Five Guys Twitter feed shows 5 new stores already in October, and 14 opened in September. This might be a never-ending quest, but what better way to spend life than seeking out new Bacon Cheeseburgers?

Besides documenting my activities, I hope to fill what I see as a terrible void on the web: No Five Guys fans pages. Other than on facebook, and that doesn't count, because facebook also does quizzes like "What color are your fairy wings?" and so is, simply, an unacceptable venue for any attempt at honest Five Guy fandom.

So I hope to cover some basic 5G fan issues, such as:
1) Are they maintaining quality thru expansion? (So far, yes!)
2) Starting our own 5G slang, such as In-N-Out fans have. It has to start somewhere, why not here?
3) Price changes across the franchise - what is the top price, what is the lowest price, by location?
4) Unique locations- such as the National Airport store that serves breakfast, or the big burger sign outside store #5.
5) Closed stores, like the original location or the various mall food court locations that have shut down.

I welcome your comments-