The first Five Guys restaurant opened in 1986 in Arlington County, Virginia. By 2001, there were five locations in the Washington, D.C., metro area. In early 2003, Five Guys began franchising, beginning a period of rapid expansion. In a year and a half, permits had been sold for over 300 franchised locations. As of 2016, Five Guys had over 1,700 locations open worldwide, with 1,300 locations under development. It was the fastest-growing fast food chain in the United States, with a 32.8% sales increase from 2010 to 2011.
The Five Guys menu focuses on hamburgers offered with KraftAmerican cheese or applewood-smoked bacon and kosher stylehot dogs (Hebrew National all-beef franks), as well as grilled cheese, BLT and vegetable sandwiches. Five Guys uses buns that are sweeter and “eggier” than normal buns. The hamburgers come in two sizes: regular (two patties) and little (one patty). Fresh-cut french fries are the sole side item, available salted only in “Five Guys style” or seasoned “Cajun style”. Customers may select from 15 different toppings at no charge.
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; for these allergen reasons, customers are not allowed to take peanuts off-site.
The chain also sells milkshakes in the traditional vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry flavors, and can also be ordered with the customer’s choice of up to 10 free toppings mixed in, ranging from Oreo cookies to bacon.
Five Guys experimented with offering coffee, but this was discontinued due to quality concerns. 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.
