Case: Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Ingredients for Success

Lajarice Jenkins

BUS 508

Strayer University

The ingredients for success in the case study of Five Guys Burgers and Fries (Five Guys) are many. The first ingredient for success is that Five Guys is a family owned business that has expanded to over 570 franchises across the United States. The business that Jerry Murrell started when his two oldest sons decided not to go to college shows an entrepreneurial spirit which is another ingredient to success. He took the money he saved for their education to start his own, new and small business which is defined as an entrepreneur (Bhattacharyya, 2006). Today, the five sons are currently overseeing the business operations of the company. There are over 1,000 locations in 47states and 6 Canadian providences that are in operation. In becoming a successful and unique hamburger chain they needed an idea that would set them apart from the competition. Five Guys philosophy sets them apart by offering a simple menu and the mission is to sell a really good, juicy burger on a fresh bun and make fresh cut french fries better than anyone else. Five Guys goal is to make their burgers better than any other fast-food chain in the business (Five Guys.com, NA). Five Guys try to make sure the menu is simple by offering a variety of toppings for the burgers, fresh never frozen meat and fresh ingredients. Five Guys do not invest heavily in advertisement; they rely on word of mouth from the customers which is also an ingredient for success because recommendations from current customers can draw new customers to the business. According to Jerry Murrell, “We figure our best salesman is our customer, treat that person right, he’ll walk out the door and sell for you” (Boone and Kurtz, 2012, p. 78). Five Guys stores do not use drive-through and their stores offer self-serve buckets of peanuts to snack on while waiting on their order. These are just a few of strategies that set Five Guys apart from other fast food chains in the restaurant industry. The values the Murrell’s began with contribute to a successful company because they started with a handful of local stores in the Washington D.C. area for about 16 years before they decided to franchise the business. This gave them opportunity to test what went well and develop their culture within their business. According to Bhattacharyya (2006), in the current era of rapid change, the success of a business will clearly depend on how much the top management encourages and practices entrepreneurship and innovation. The original value is to keep it simple, and this starts with their menu. Five Guys tried to add other food items, such as chicken sandwich and coffee and it did not work out. Another value is to make good food with good ingredients which is a part of the success of Five Guys. By keeping everything simple such as the décor, the menu, and ingredients it was not hard to franchise their stores. Three factors that have contributed to Five Guy’s success in a short time is keeping the customer happy, providing a quality product, and ensuring employee satisfaction. By keeping the customer happy this will promote them to come back again and tell someone else about their experience at Five Guys. The restaurant places signs that hang on the beverage machine at every restaurant that is considered a service promise such as “You the customer are the most important visitor on our premises” (Five Guys.com, NA). Another Factor that helped the success of the company is quality product. By providing fresh and not frozen burgers or fries contributes to the authenticity of the food. There are no freezers in Five Guys locations, just coolers. The toppings are freshly grown from local farmers and the buns come from bakeries in the area. Lastly, Five Guys ensure that their employees are satisfied within the