We Finally Know Why Five Guys Is So Expensive

when you get free toppings at five guys have you ever wondered if they're truly free what about the quality of the potatoes that go into making their french fries here's why this popular burger chain is so expensive unlike a lot of fast food chains five guys is committed to freshness this can come at a cost though which is most likely reflected in the price you pay for their burgers the company refuses to work with frozen products so in their kitchens they only have coolers and no freezers but exclusively using fresh ingredients has a catch spoilage to keep spoiled foods at a minimum employees may have to prep two to three times a day which in turn means more deliveries than when you take into account the fact that five guys also has multiple free toppings to choose from along with their freshly baked bread that's delivered daily it just seems logical that these costs would be calculated into the final menu prices five guys uses only the freshest ingredients but what about the overall quality as you might imagine the chain only invests in premium ingredients schweid and sons is the beef purveyor for all of their locations the specialty blend of ground shopkins sirloin used for five guys burgers isn't available for retail purchase which makes it all the more tantalizing it's comprised of eighty percent lean and twenty percent background beef which is the ideal lean to fat ratio according to schweiden's sons then of course there are also five guys fresh never frozen french fries as reported by food republic every year five guys buys more than five percent of the annual idaho potato crop which is mainly of the burbank variety that amounts to 140 million pounds of potatoes annually as noted by capital press around 100 idaho and potato growers sell to five guys even the mayonnaise that five guys uses comes from a privately owned brand created by morel and the corporate condiment king heinz five guys is known for being rather generous with its portions especially the fries as a small order is certainly enough for two people and it's not just the sides that are plentiful the main attraction also arrives nice and hefty according to five guys nutritional information their standard burger patty hovers just around 3.35 ounces or 94 grams in a taste-off between two competing burger chains dallas observer calculated that in and outs patties weigh in at two ounces that means a single burger at five guys is almost 50 percent meatier than the competition it almost seems comparable when you factor in cost except that the standard five guys hamburger doesn't come with one patty but two that means you're actually getting 6.7 ounces of premium beefy goodness i was just trying to make the beef boys proud so if the price for a single burger at five guys used to make you scratch your head now you can see that you get what you pay for whether you love them or hate them the burger buns at five guys are worth talking about according to a post on the chain's facebook five guys buns contain nine ingredients total water flour sugar oil yeast eggs milk salt and sesame seeds compared to your standard burger bread these buns are distinctly sweet and noticeably eggier while some locations have a love-hate relationship with the price of the bread they have to stick with synchronicity because if there's one thing that five guys take seriously it's keeping the menu items uniform so even if the buns are a costly sore point franchisees know that the product is premium and that they wouldn't be able to change it anyway to keep up with demand the company contracted 10 professional bakeries around the nation to produce their fabulous cake-like buns according to five guy's founder jerry morrell the bread is baked on a daily basis and picked up every afternoon at 3 p.m the buns are then shipped out via plane or freight and sent to every five guys location so that they arrive in time for prep early the next morning even if the nearest eatery is 400 miles away that's a lot of buns and a lot of gas to account for look at these big old burns as reported by pitco canola oil and peanut oil or a blend of both are the most commonly used fryer oils in the restaurant industry that being said eateries tend to steer clear of peanut oil because of the price and not because you know it's a threat to individuals with nut allergies or anything like that people with peanut allergies have a reaction to the protein in the actual nut refined peanut oils like the ones used by five guys are considered clean as they undergo multiple processes to eliminate any proteins you would think that the significant increase in childhood nut allergies would cause peanut oil prices to plummet so why is it the opposite peanut oil is one of the most nutrient dense oils in the world and it's high in oleic oils and vitamin e there's been an ongoing societal shift towards healthier eating especially in the fast and fast casual food industries this growing interest has increased demand on peanut oil manufacturers who are having trouble keeping up their supply ultimately menu prices are going to reflect the price of goods needed for the production of menu items so it would hardly be a surprise if the cost of peanut oil plays a factor in the pricing of five guys food there is no such thing as a free topping they have to be calculated into the cost of something somewhere after all five guys has to pay for those add-ons as they don't just magically descend from the heavens the chain offers 17 different toppings that you can add to your massive burger and all of them are free though their menu only specifies 15 ketchup mustard relish specialty mayonnaise grilled onions barbecue sauce hot sauce a1 steak sauce onions grilled mushrooms mount hood pickles fresh lettuce tomatoes jalapenos and green peppers but you can also add extra cheese and bacon without extra charge it all comes down to this restaurants want to make money they can advertise that additions are free because those food costs are minimal for the restaurant but everything is calculated into the final price that you pay for your meal this is done with food cost calculators which measure food margin percentages and pricing based off of a restaurant's food costs in the end customers are paying for those free toppings whether they realize it or not maybe it's time someone paid any company has to spend money to train employees it's no different at five guys since the food is freshly prepped and made to order cooks are expected to know what they're doing to make sure they have what it takes to operate the grill employees must acquire those skills through proper training potential fry cooks attend fry calibration class before being able to take on the fry station burger builders need to learn the specific way to arrange toppings or the texture won't be right simply put no employee is allowed to work a full day without attending five guys university at this chain consistency is key and if something tastes off then it reflects poorly on the brand and not only does five guys offer thorough training for its staff but full-time employees also qualify for retirement savings and health insurance furthermore all workers are entitled to a paid meal per shift and 50 off food when they're not on the clock the company also offers bonuses twice a year and they have a tuition assistance program which includes three different options fully funded partially funded and personalized coaching that helps guide new students if you've ever been to a five guys you know that there's a lot going on visually the walls are covered in white and red tiles while the kitchen has an open floor plan with a shiny steel interior an open floor plan means that everyone can see inside meaning everyone can see everything because of this cleanliness is especially important to keep the stress off the cooks complimentary peanuts are offered to customers while this is meant as a kind gesture it also means that there's more of a mess for employees to clean up especially since customers have a tendency to just leave their peanut shells on the floor if you factor in the extra sanitation and cleanliness regulations initiated by the fda because of the kovid 19 pandemic that means even more extra costs ultimately the price of cleaning and sanitization means more money spent we care about our food we care about our crew and we care about you jerry morrell has been very open about five guys pricing in an interview with inc he revealed our food prices fluctuate we do not base our price on anything but margins we raise our prices to reflect whatever our food costs are so if the mayonnaise guy triples his price we pay triple for the mayonnaise and then we'll increase the price of our product basically depending on where you are in the world the price you pay for your burger is going to vary take for example the 2016 debut of five guys in belfast northern ireland while customers were happy with the burgers they felt that the prices were shenanigans because they were higher than what americans were paying five guys defended the increased prices by citing taxes the use of premium ingredients and the cost of labor on another occasion a massive crop of tomatoes was cleaned out by hurricanes in florida morale received calls from franchisees who were pulling tomatoes off the menu because they were too expensive as the price had jumped from seventeen dollars a case to fifty dollars every hamburger comes with two slices of tomato so morel suggested that until the price decreased only one slice was necessary however his sons intervened and made sure that franchisees kept two because of the importance of consistency we've already established that five guys takes pride in its no-freezer policy so if something is prepared fresh daily that indicates that the items in the cold case are in fact prepared that morning and not the day prior five guys embraces the fresh food factor because fresh makes food taste better as reported by food print it's estimated that restaurants in the united states generate upwards of 22 to 33 billion pounds of food waste annually most restaurants have a general idea of how many customers they'll serve each day this helps determine how much product will be needed which ultimately leads to consistent pricing such food waste forecasting can be done by using prep calculators it's also worth noting that in a study by unilever 47 of diners said they would be willing to spend more money to eat at a restaurant that actively tries to reduce its food waste output perhaps five guys has taken this sentiment into account it's jerry morrell's firm belief that the best marketing and advertising comes via word of mouth not some billboard on a busy highway or a commercial that airs all over primetime tv five guys also doesn't solicit reviews instead they use mystery shoppers as their main form of advertising morale told forbes in 2012 that his company collects 1.5 from their franchisees to cover the cost of mystery shoppers that frequent each location twice per week according to a person who posted on quora claiming to be a mystery shopper for multiple businesses working for five guys was one of their better gigs as the mystery shopper put it i was particularly pleased to see that corporate watched a number of important details they asked that we observe how the fries were cooked the quality of the finished product and the cleanliness of the restaurant among a number of details important for good customer service this attention to detail is certainly reflected in the high quality of the five guys experience but it of course comes at a price the price is wrong check out one of our newest videos right here plus even more mashed videos about your favorite restaurants are coming soon subscribe to our youtube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one [Music]

Channel: Mashed

Views: 74,398

Keywords: mashed, burgers, five guys, restaurant, fast food

Id: D-Lt-mPbZMw

Length: 12min 32sec (752 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 09 2022