Entrepreneurial Leadership Five Guys was founded in 1986 by Jerry and Janie Murrell and their sons, all five of whom are part of the business. The first location, which no longer exists, was in the Westmont Shopping Center, and by 2002, the family ran six locations in Northern Virginia. The restaurant gained popularity among locals and visitors alike, and its franchises grew rapidly over the years. In August 2010, they had more than 670 locations across America and Canada. When his sons decided they weren’t going to college, Jerry and Janie took the money they had saved for their college and opened a Five Burgers and Fries. Currently, Five Guys gave expanded to over 1,000 locations in 47 states and 6 Canadian provinces. The three main reasons for the success of the company are quality, value and the salesmen. The culture of Five Guys comes down to meat and potatoes and loyalty. The company has been getting its beef from the same supplier for more years than Murrell can remember, and it chooses to use Idaho potatoes for its fries rather than faster-growing, cheaper crops in Florida and California for the simple reason that, in Murrell’s opinion, they taste better. Five Guys’ loyalty extends to its identity as a burger joint as much as to its suppliers. In an age of expanding menus, when even so iconic a brand as McDonald’s is as well known for its salads, coffee, and wraps as for its Quarter Pounder. However, there was a lot of temptation along the way to do other things, like milkshakes or other items. Their philosophy was to stick within their own four walls and have the food do the talking for them. An owner must have great confidence in his product if he is willing to tell other place they aren’t the fastest company out there and for Five Guys that is fine. They take pride in not being the fastest burger joint out there because they take pride in their fresh meat and plants that are so clean you could eat them off the floor. Five Guys teaches their employees to take a sense of ownership and accountability in their role on the team. “Boys hate to smile. It’s not macho. It’s definitely not macho to clean a bathroom”. (Welch, 2012) To help motivate all Five Guy employees, secret shoppers are hired to audit all duties performed by everyone on the team. If the bathrooms are dirty, the team loses pay, if the floor in the dining area is not clean; the whole team loses out on pay. This helps promote team unity and ensures every role, every “chore” is equally important and tied to financial gain or loss for the team. Not only is the money going to the workers, it is mostly certainly going to the customers. Free unlimited peanuts when you walk in, free unlimited toppings on your burger; from lettuce to grilled mushrooms to jalapeno peppers, at no extra charge. (Gilbert, 2012) Five Guys takes pride in putting money back where it matters, in their food. They do not have fancy restaurants, just plain red and white checked walls and framed newspaper articles. This is why in 2009; they were named the fastest growing chain restaurant. (Miller, 2012) Customers go home raving about the food and service, that is the best form of advertisement, word of mouth. Set aside from the rest Five Guys is considered a fast casual restaurant. Fast meaning you will not have to wait long for your food but while waiting you can be lead back and enjoy yourself until it’s ready.
Their meat is never frozen because they do not use freezers just coolers and they take proud on their trans-fat free menu. The Murrells realized that while many franchisees clicked with the brand, others never quite got on board. They’ve since bought back around 75 stores and run them themselves. Much of the company’s financing which includes a $30 million investment from the private equity firm Miller Investment Management and a $100 million line of credit from GE Capital is funding the development of corporate stores. The growth is a result of Five Guys implementing a model that has strict guidelines and comprehensive support, allowing franchisees to fully understand and execute the company’s business strategy. District managers help franchisees maintain quality levels, and regularly visit stores to assess certain standards such as health and safety, quality control and customer service. A big role in the decision played the uniqueness or originality of Five Guys. Their concept was different and liked very well. Five Guys was able to compete with other burger restaurants in the area and make a good profit. Their formula for success: a simple, virtually minimalist menu of freshly prepared food, served at nearly the speed of a fast-food establishment. The recession ended up being a good thing for Five Guys. They got better real estate for their restaurants and hired better employees from competitors. A former Checkers executive is in charge of building new stores, and a former Burger King franchiser runs the Murrells’ 200 company-owned stores. And the money came eventually: Five Guys now has a $100 million line of credit with GE and 6,000 corporate employees. The social practice of keeping everything simple was made the concept easier to expand the business and brand. By growing so quickly means Five Guys must teach their ideas to thousands of employees every year and primarily rely on the franchisees to represent their brand. Five Guys focus is about putting their money back into their food, and back into the customer’s stomach and wallets. They do this not only to help increase sales, but to ensure every customer gets everything they expected and more. There are plenty of burger joints around today, but Five Guys has set themselves apart from the rest and that’s why their successful to this point.

References
Bukszpan, D. (2012, July 20). 15 Major Fast Food Failures. http://www.cnbc.com/id/39722773/15_Major_Fast_Food_Failures?slide=3
Five Guys Burger and Fries. (2012, July 16). About Us. http://www.fiveguys.com/about-us.aspx
Gilbert, S. (2012, July 18). What Makes Five Guys the New Burger Masters. http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/08/18/five-guys-new-burger-masters
Miller, A. (2012, July 18). Five Guys named fastest growing chain restaurant. http://www.examiner.com/article/five-guys-named-fastest-growing-chain-resturant
Welch, L. (2012, July 16). How I Did It: Jerry Murrell, Five Guys Burgers and Fries. http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100401/jerry-murrell-five-guys-burgers-and-fries.html