Red. White. The squares. The light yellow, simple wooden chairs and tables. Every bite of this restaurant oozes out a vibrant taste of minimalism, the 80’s, and boutique shops. And the peanuts. They won’t shut up about their peanuts. Those lightly seasoned roasted peanuts in packages and bags in red and white square patterns. Minimalism at its finest.
History
The five guys (and a woman) who started the shop in 1986 would never thought of their success in not only Washing, DC, but eventually in the whole North America. Janie and Jerry Murrel told their four sons the words at the end their high school careers , “start a business or go to college”. I wish that was what my parents told me, but, instead, my parents just told me to “not eat the icecream directly from the container…put it in a bowl first.”
Not sure if the peanut oil worked, or if there was a special recipe at the Five Guys, the franchise received traction. Lots of them. Press went after them, as well as the customers. People can’t shut up about the peanut oil fries and patties.
The Vancouver Location
Walking into the restaurant, you can tell right away that it was a different from all other restaurants. The set-up was classic. A simple “Order it” sign and a simple menu with only four burgers (hamburger, bacon, and two others with cheese), fries, drinks, and a bunch of toppings. Tables for twos and fours. Employees in white caps, white/red shirt and red aprons. The environment was very peaceful even with the always crowded room. However, from what one of my friends told me, the Bellingham location in the states has a different feel to it. Employees working in the kitchen communicate passionately and constantly with each other. Almost like a Japanese restaurant. This creates a much more relaxed and interactive environment which my friend and I both agreed to be better than the peaceful environment. I wonder if this was a branding strategy, but we will discuss more about that later.
I ordered the bacon burger with the following toppings: mayo, lettuce, A.1 sauce, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, mustard, and jalapeno peppers. I wanted to create a spicy burger, yet still offers a creamy, rich flavor with the help of bacon and ground beef. The result? Quite disappointing. Of course it was a good burger, but it doesn’t match the price I paid. The buns were soft, which are nice. The patties were a little bit over cooked, falling apart in my mouth, almost too dry. It was definitely NOT juicy! My decision to not have Ketch-up was my personal preference; however, the taste of the sauces did not make me happy. The taste wasn’ t as distinct and attractive as what I hoped for. I was looking for a rich flavor, but what I got was a sense of blandness and almost too salty. HOWEVER, a big disclaimer is that I am slightly sick which may affect my taste buds. The texture description, though, should still be accurate. The jalapeno was fresh and spicy enough to satisfy me, but the grilled onions failed to deliver the sweetness, softness, and flavors I was hoping for. Maybe it’s just my personal preferences, but I do not think grilled onions should still be crispy when it’s in a burger. All in all, I finished the burger with great disappointment given the price I paid–around $9.
I also ordered the fries. It tasted fairly normal to me. But again, my taste buds may not provide me with accurate information. The texture of the fries was quite ordinary. Similar to that of the Triple-O’s and KFC’s. It was seasoned well if you order the spicy fries.
Alternatives
There are many alternatives given the price point. In fact, and I can’t believe I am saying this, I prefer the A&W burgers over Five Guys. I swear A&W didn’t pay me anything, but coupons. If you are in downtown, and you don’t mind not be able to sit down, possibly, go try the $2.85 Burgers at the corner of Pender and Granville. I guarantee you will like it. Yes, it’s $2.85 a burger. Yes, I had a discussion of profit margin with friends about it. And yes, I didn’t take money from them either. It’s all over Vancity Buzz.
Branding
It’s all about branding. Taking every burger in the same city, comparing them, and having people to taste it. The results will be very similar. The difference is not in taste, because everyone has different preference and all burger joints can make good burgers. The key to a successful franchise is traction. It’s about repeat purchases. It’s about marketing through word of mouth. It’s about a lot of things, and I am not going to get technical here. What I want to point out specifically is what Five Guys did to boost their marketing without throwing a huge amount of money into advertising. Let’s use me as an example.
I didn’t know about the Five Guys, but my friends did. Many of them in fact did because they go to the States more regularly. When my friends first discovered it in Vancouver, they went right away. So when they came back with peanuts, I was intrigued. By both how delicious the burgers sound and the peanuts. So automatically, when I think about burgers, I think about Five Guys and how different they are. Who the heck gave up peanuts? FOR FREE?!
How much does peanut cost? According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s weekly price report, the average price for raw peanuts is approximately $415 per metric ton. After processing and packaging, let’s assume that the cost will likely go up by 15%. So it becomes $480 per metric ton. This is equivalent to 24 cents per pound. This is ridiculous. When did any customer eat a whole pound of peanut? Must be rare. And what’s customer’s perceived benefit of the free peanuts? It must be higher than 24 cents. Does it cannibalize their sales a bit? Yeah, maybe he/she won’t order a large fries and will order a regular instead. But the importance is to get people start talking about the restaurant.
In the States, the workers in the kitchen communicate with each other loudly and constantly. It’s like a show. People love that. It creates an atmosphere which affect people’s behaviour, perception, etc. It’s like when you first go into a party, it’s awkward and all because nobody has drank enough and you don’t anyone. But as soon as you start to play King of Cards, you are all friends. It’s amazing to see such psychological changes in human beings. Accepting a new culture, a new taste, and a new way of living, in a way, so quickly.
Future
The company is doing extremely well, and there is potential for Five Guys to compete with McDonalds for sure. They are winning on profit margin, culture, and social acceptance of made-at-the-spot food services. Even though, Five Guys is technically a fast food restaurant, but with a few simple things–free roasted peanuts, the boutique/family start-up story, the simplicity in store design, the quality food preparation process, and the see through kitchen style, the franchise is spear headed towards an international success in the near future.
The Han Nation 