Entrepreneurship at Five Guys

Sell a really good, juicy burger on a fresh bun, making perfect french fries, without cutting corners (Welch 2010). This business plan has been in place at Five Guys since Jerry Murrell and his sons opened their first Five Guys restaurant in 1986. Their rapid growth is the fastest any fast-food restaurant chain has achieved for any significant amount of time. In 2002, they had only five restaurants which were open in Northern Virginia, that were so successful that they have opened more than 1,000 new restaurants throughout the United States and Canada over the past decade. Along with that, they have also committed to opening an additional 1,500 new restaurants in the coming years as well, not only broadening their market share in the premium burger restaurant category, but also will put a dent into the market share of the big burger chains (McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s). The growth of their restaurant chain is something that only Jimmy John’s even comes close to in terms of growth rates, and close is an overstatement as Jimmy John’s growth rate over the past decade is 241% compared to Five Guys’ 792% growth rate over the same period of time (Burke 2012). This has led Five Guys to surpass the $1 Billion in annual revenues threshold.

Five Guys philosophy is that if you're going to sell hamburgers and french fries in a restaurant industry that is crowded with hamburger and french-fries chains, you'd better do hamburgers and french fries better than anyone else. Simply stated, they say they are “in the business of selling burgers” (Farfan 2013). Along with their philosophy, they also have a goal for their restaurants, which is: “Five Guys goal is to sell the best quality hamburgers possible. To sell the best hamburger possible, we focus on quality, service and cleanliness” (Farfan 2013). As noted above in their mission statement and philosophy, Five Guys outshines their competitors in the fast food restaurant chain business as they actually stick to...