When it comes to fast food, few chains have fans as dedicated as Five Guys. The chain is known for its quality burgers and large servings of fries, but there might be a lot you don't know about them. The story behind their unique bun is actually a pretty complicated one, as they really work hard to nail down the specific flavor and texture they've become famous for. In addition, they will never deliver their food to anyone, even if the President of the United States places an order. Let's take a look at the untold truth of Five Guys.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00The growth of the Five Guys burgers and fries chain is nothing short of amazing, and the
00:05story behind it will make you believe anything is possible.
00:08With founders who have remained an integral part of their company, franchisees who aren't
00:13just buying a brand name but an entire formula, and a company built from the ground up, Five
00:18Guys has a story that embraces what the American dream once was — and still can be.
00:25Choosing to cook
00:26Five Guys' founding father Jerry Murrell hails from a middle-class Michigan family, which
00:31encouraged him to go to college.
00:32He didn't enjoy his own educational experience much, though, so when it came time to send
00:37his sons to college, he gave them a choice.
00:40The money he'd save for their education was theirs, and they could either each go to college
00:44or, as a family, decide to pool the money to start a restaurant.
00:49Not only would it give his kids a legacy, but it would let them work together, and their
00:53limited-menu concept was a sweeping success.
00:56We stuck to our guns, kept it simple, and the press liked us."
01:03What's in a name?
01:04The name Five Guys couldn't be more straightforward.
01:07Murrell and his sons decided on the name to describe themselves — father Jerry, sons
01:12Matt, Jim, and Chad from his first marriage, and son Ben from his second.
01:16But when youngest son Tyler was born, the name didn't quite fit anymore, so he unofficially
01:21removed himself from the name roster so that the Five Guys he refers to are his kids.
01:27And all remain key players in the business.
01:30While their father oversees everything, Jim and Matt travel the country and visit locations.
01:35Chad is in charge of training, Ben works with the franchise owners and selects new applicants,
01:40and Tyler runs the bakery.
01:42Murrell's second wife, Janie, is also involved in the business as their bookkeeper.
01:47Finding a franchise
01:49Five Guys opened its doors in 1986, and it's only continued to grow ever since.
01:54The chain saw an almost unthinkable 792 percent growth between 2006 and 2012, but that global
02:01expansion almost didn't happen.
02:04At first, the Murrells, especially Jerry, were content with opening just a few restaurants
02:08in the same area.
02:10They had complete control, kept the menu the same, and experimented with very few new things.
02:15Matt bought a copy of Franchising for Dummies, written by Wendy's Dave Thomas.
02:20And at the same time, former Washington Redskins kicker Mark Moseley was pondering the future
02:25of his own burger joint.
02:26In a case of right place, right time, Moseley got on board with Five Guys and kicked off
02:31their franchising efforts.
02:33They found out quickly how right of a decision it was when franchising rights in Virginia
02:38sold out in three days, and the rest is fast food history.
02:43No timers
02:45There are a ton of things to keep track of in any kitchen, but take a close look at any
02:49Five Guys kitchen and you'll notice there's something missing.
02:52Timers
02:53Jerry Murrell says they're not necessary because good cooks know when a burger is done.
02:58Those burgers are thin for a reason, too, and that dates back to the early days of Five
03:03Guys.
03:04The first burgers they experimented with were thicker, but they dried out too fast.
03:08So thinner burgers gave them the taste and texture they were looking for, and patrons
03:12seemed to enjoy the choice.
03:15No VIP deliveries
03:17Getting a phone call from the U.S. government might ordinarily throw a restaurant into a
03:21tailspin, but when Five Guys was asked for 15 burgers to be delivered to the Pentagon,
03:26Murrell refused.
03:27He told QSR,
03:28"...we've never had a delivery service.
03:31We don't believe in it.
03:32We think it cheapens the product."
03:34Not only did they refuse, but they hung a massive banner outside their Arlington store
03:39that read,
03:40"...absolutely no delivery."
03:42"...puttin' a sign in your window that says we deliver is a sign that you're probably
03:46maybe in trouble."
03:47The move was risky, since the Pentagon's 26,000 employees were a huge part of the location's
03:53customer base, but it worked.
03:55Business reportedly went up about 20 percent, and even Barack Obama stopped by in 2009,
04:01after they also refused to offer any delivery service to the White House, because some foods
04:06are worth trekking out for.
04:07"...we need to go get some burgers."
04:10Fresh fries
04:11Five Guys gets their potatoes almost exclusively from Idaho, and only north of the 42nd parallel
04:17to boot.
04:18"...those potatoes grow slower than a potato from the south, which makes them denser."
04:23They buy so many of them, they account for 5 percent of the entire state's potato sales.
04:28Two months of the year, however, the growing season dictates they switch to Washington
04:32State potatoes.
04:33And the reason their fries are so tasty goes well beyond source consistency.
04:38After hand-cutting them, Five Guys fry crew members give the raw potatoes a three-minute
04:43power wash to get rid of the extra starch, and they're pre-cooked for two and a half
04:47minutes before being cooled for anywhere from 10 minutes to a few hours.
04:51Once they're ordered, they're finished off with another two to three minutes in the fryer,
04:55shaken off exactly 15 times, and served up to the customers.
05:00Mystery shoppers
05:02There's a lot about the way Five Guys does business that's unconventional, and that includes
05:07their approach to getting the word out.
05:09According to BestMark, the reason you've never seen a Five Guys commercial or billboard is
05:13that they use that cash to hire mystery shoppers to visit their restaurants and do a full evaluation.
05:19This keeps employees on their toes, ensures their customers have a great experience, and
05:23those experiences turn into word-of-mouth advertising.
05:27Anyone who's worked in retail knows just how terrifying the prospect of a mystery shopper
05:31is, but Five Guys turns it into a major rewards program.
05:35Director of communications and marketing Molly Catalano told QSR Magazine they hand
05:41out a huge amount of money as bonuses for meeting mystery shopper goals.
05:45Every week, the top 200 restaurants are each given between $900 and $1,300 to split among
05:51employees, which means there's a chance they can win a bonus every single week.
05:56That's quite an incentive to hustle.
05:58So if your local Five Guys crew seem to keep some serious pep in their steps during your
06:02next visit, it might be because they suspect you're a shopper spy that might earn them
06:07some extra cash.