Five guys burgers and fries

[pizzatime]

Has anyone been in one? They are popping up everywhere. We have 3 locally and I can’t believe how busy they are. They have a simple concept and I’m jealous. They have a menu that you can put on a business card while I have a menu that is complex.

Your thoughts?

pt

 

[idahopizzaman]

One opened up an a town near me this past summer…about 8 miles as the crow flies…I have not been in it yet…but have driven by on occasion…they started out busy but now they don’t seem as busy once the newness wore off.

 

[paul7979]

Five Guys just opened up in our town a few month ago. They’ve been around other towns here and they were well known already. Their publicity department did an amazing job getting their name out before they opened. They were on the front page of the newspaper the day prior to opening. Front page of the local section on opening day and front page again a few days after opening. My wife and I ate there on their opening day and they were crowded as could be. My impression was they were VERY expensive, but much better than any other fast food burger around here. But, if I was really wanting to pay $10 for a burger and fries, I think I’ll stop at Outback or Applebees.

 

[brad_randall]

My business partner and I ate at the one that opened in town last month or so, and we walked away scratching our heads. We were convinced that the new crew must have not been up to speed yet since our food so did not live up to the hype that surrounded the brand. The experience simply didn’t match the testimonials hanging on the walls or all the stuff we’d read about in the trade magazines.

The burgers were just okay, nothing special - a bit “dry” for my taste. The fries were… well… to be honest, they reminded me of the ones my mother would cook in the Fry Daddy when I was a kid. They turned out soggy and limp because she didn’t know to soak them in water or blanch them - she just cut the fries and threw them in the oil till they turned brown.

Certain that we had caught the place on a bad day, we went back again a couple weeks later. Same “just okay” burger, same soggy fries and same confused discussion about why this place was so popular. Now when we’re on that side of town wondering what to get for lunch, one of us will suggest “5 Guys” and then we both laugh. And we really wanted to like the place.

 

[wa_dave]

There is a trend for up market high priced burger joints.
We don’t have this chain but we have a lot of smaller operations selling a burger concept with the appropriate price tag - $15+. Reports are that while they might have bigger burgers than Maccas and the other franchises, and their outlets are more “cafe” style than the fast food barns, the quality doesn’t live up to the price tag and the marketing concept.
I think it is a way of making bigger bucks from a cannabalised market by placing themselves in the customers mindset as being better than the others because they are dearer, ahve smarter looking shops with trendy staff.

Dave

 

[Rick_G]

I have waten at Five Guys several times both here and in Athens Ga. Always had a good juicy burger and great fries. The price is a little high, even when you take into account that they are in my opinion several steps above other burger chains, but everyonce in a while you need to enjoy a little fat mixed with catsup and mustard rolling down your chin.

The way I decide if food is overpriced is if I am still thinking about the cost of the meal when I am halfway through it.

I guess single guys could use the same scale when on a date

 

[Piper]

We’ve had them here for a few years now. Just like Paul said, they opened here with tremendous fanfare. I can’t necessarily say I don’t like it, but I don’t go out of my way to get it.

The one menu item I really don’t like is the Cajun fries, as they’re so salty that I couldn’t even eat them. I know they’re supposed to be heavily seasoned, but wow.

I also absolutely hate the appearance of all of the ones here. They’re too bright, too white and I can’t stand the kitchen shouting thing. Places like that make me feel extremely on edge; I prefer a bit of a softer dining experience I guess.

 

[pizza2007]

Their franchises are selling like hot cakes. But their food is mediocre. McDonald’s has a much better high-end burger, as do other chain joints. Like everyone else here, I’ve tried it, shook my head, tried it again, but haven’t been back. I don’t know if other ‘high-end’ burger joints have similar experiences.

 

[paul7979]

pizza2007:

McDonald’s has a much better high-end burger

Wow, I’m not sure you’ll find many others that will support this idea. I don’t eat at Five Guys because I find the price way too high for counter service dining. The food was pretty good, but I’m just not going to pay that much for burgers. At the same time, I will not eat at McDonalds because the food is so terrible. If the McD’s down the street from me offered free burgers all next week I would not eat there once. Five Guys may not be worth the price, but McD’s in my mind isn’t worth eating the food.

 

[pizza2007]

That big angus burger isn’t bad at all. And I consider myself a little picky with burgers. I don’t eat five guys, well cuz their burger suxks.

 

[jackaloo]

It looks like there’s about 16 at least now in the Houston area. I haven’t tried them yet.
Smashburger is another chain that’s popping up. I wonder if part of the reason that sales are flat is that there’s too damn many choices of places to eat.

 

[Piper]

jackaloo:

Smashburger is another chain that’s popping up.

I really like Smashburger, but the one here is always a ghost town and I fear they aren’t going to make it. It is pretty expensive though; I think the bill for my wife and I was something around $27.00.

jackaloo:

I wonder if part of the reason that sales are flat is that there’s too d**n many choices of places to eat.

For sure. Easy credit in the past 10 years allowed everybody to expand at breakneck pace to continue showing growth. The recession has shaken a lot of those out (at least here) and I don’t think that’s a necessarily a bad thing. Return to normalcy.

 

[royster13]

Sometimes the restaurant business is more about “marketing” and less about the “food”…It looks like these folks have created a lot of “hype” that feeds off itself…

 

[NicksPizza]

5 guys for me has always (maybe 5 times now) given me a well made burger, crispy fries, and those peanuts! Guys, you arem missing two key elements for their success.

1. Unique Selling Point (USP): They are bright, clean and doing it like no one else out there is doing it. Steak and shake is probably closest in our region (SE). Fresh ground meat . . . actual potatoes you can see them cut . . . premium hotdogs . . . insanely simple menu. They have a the freakin’ potato location like it was a wine. Sure, they could make it up, but it adds to that atmosphere. They created it and market to it like their lives depend on it. Various franchises have had varying ‘goodness’ to their food for me, but they are always in potential high traffic areas.
2. Perceived Value: Those cases of brand-labelled peanuts just cannot be ignored. Any time someone gives away free unlimited “something” in the restaurant, they get lots of attention. Many people love those peanuts, and they get perceived value bonus. I am a peanut freak, and make them pay for having those open boxes. Sure, that is what adds to the pricing . . . paying for those add-ons. Having the open kitchen is another percieved value and USP element. We can always see what they are doing to our food. BRILLIANT counterpoint to all the public speculation about what is and isn’t going on in the fast food galleys behind the walls.

 

[pizzapirate]

Been to Five Guys a few times. Personally I think their fries are horrible and the hamburgers are ok. Expensive??? I suppose if you are comparing them to McDonald’s pricing but really they are not expensive. Remember their hamburgers have two patties. You can order their “little” hamburger, which has one patty, and is more comparable to other fast chains.

There definitely is a trend for higher-end hamburgers right now but this is not part of it. I’ve heard of Smashburgers, but haven’t tried them yet. If anyone is ever in the San Diego area you have to try The Burger Lounge. Not cheap, small menu, but great food.

Five Guys came from the East coast but they seemed to have copied their “look” from In & Out from the west coast. I just don’t think you can beat In & Out. They are one of the best run restaurant operations I’ve ever seen. Smaller portions but the food is of high quality and you can’t beat their price point.

 

[paul7979]

pizzapirate:

Expensive??? I suppose if you are comparing them to McDonald’s pricing but really they are not expensive. Remember their hamburgers have two patties. You can order their “little” hamburger, which has one patty, and is more comparable to other fast chains.

There definitely is a trend for higher-end hamburgers right now but this is not part of it.

Not an expensive burger? $12.47 for a bacon cheeseburger, large fries and a large coke or $8.87 for their little cheeseburger, regular fries and regular coke. I’m not sure where else I could go in my town to spend $12.47 for a burger fries and a coke. I couldn’t spend that at Outback, Applebees, TX Roadhouse, Chilis. I’m really not sure there’s a restaurant in town that would charge me more.

http://gofiveguys.com/Order/Order.aspx?VendorId=1315

 

[pizza_garden]

I don’t know them or have eaten there, but I wonder if there is a bulletin board somewhere where hamburger guys talk bout how expensive pizza is . . .

If their cost is $2.50 for that bacon cheeseburger, large friends and large Coke, that makes them about the same as us, huh? :mrgreen:

We’re all in business to extract the highest price we can. As I say over and over, We’re in the marketing business, not the food business.

 

[pizzapirate]

paul7979:

pizzapirate:

Expensive??? I suppose if you are comparing them to McDonald’s pricing but really they are not expensive. Remember their hamburgers have two patties. You can order their “little” hamburger, which has one patty, and is more comparable to other fast chains.

There definitely is a trend for higher-end hamburgers right now but this is not part of it.

Not an expensive burger? $12.47 for a bacon cheeseburger, large fries and a large coke or $8.87 for their little cheeseburger, regular fries and regular coke. I’m not sure where else I could go in my town to spend $12.47 for a burger fries and a coke. I couldn’t spend that at Outback, Applebees, TX Roadhouse, Chilis. I’m really not sure there’s a restaurant in town that would charge me more.

http://gofiveguys.com/Order/Order.aspx?VendorId=1315

Thought we were “only” talking about the price of a hamburger – $3.49. Your gourmet burger chains, like Smashburger, start at $4.99. Your comment kinda sounds like pizza customers who complain about a $50 pizza only to find out they ordered an XL Supreme with wings, salad, 2 liters and breadstix and had it delivered. :lol: To me, Five Guys is the same as any other fast food place except for their bigger portions = slightly higher prices.

Still, I know we all have our limits of what we are wiling to spend. I do not frequent “full-service” restaurants because I don’t care to pay the premium for the experience but I do enjoy the higher-end fast casual establishments. And, if I do go for a “gourmet” burger, I pass on the fries and get water

 

[bodegahwy]

A burger in most of the better sit-down places around here runs $9.00-$14.00 and comes with fries and side salad. It will be all natural, hormone free, black angus, grass finished beef and will be 1/3 to 1/2 pound with a really nice locally baked bun. I have no problem with that price.

I would no more compare that burger and experience to Macdonalds than I want my pizza compared to Dominos.

I have never tried 5 guys or even heard of them.

 

[PizzaDiva]

There is a new location opening in Derry, NH while Shops are closing at an amazing rate; a very sad rate, actually. Fuddruckers, a lost cause in my opinion, started/attempted this sort of blitz and failed based on their product, service and choice of employees. WIth the unemployment rate in NH being so severe (the average does NOT include those released in 08 and have gone south) I highly doubt they will be open for more than one year.

PD