HUNTINGTON -- Janie and Jerry Murrell opened the original "Five Guys Burgers and Fries" location in Arlington, Va., in 1986. The restaurant was named for their five sons who made up the burger joint's original staff. Since then, Five Guys has grown into a chain with more than 200 stores.
The 200th chain store opened at Pullman Square last September. Five Guys does something simple extremely well. While the restaurant offers hot dogs as well as grilled cheese and veggie sandwiches, people primarily come for some of the best burgers and fries available.
"The name is 'burgers and fries,' so if we can't get that right, we probably shouldn't be here," said Sarah Langdon, general manager of the Huntington restaurant. "Everything is fresh, and we're very proud of our product. Our bread comes in from two bakeries -- one from D.C. and one from Atlanta. We go through about eight to 12 bags of potatoes every day, and we cut them every morning. The beef comes in fresh, never frozen. We don't own a microwave or a freezer. All of our fries are fried in peanut oil."
Five Guys offers three main types of hamburger. A plain hamburger, a cheeseburger and a bacon cheeseburger. Each burger is available in a "regular" (two patties) and a "small" (one patty) size. A single patty is about a quarter of a pound, so a "little" burger may be enough for some appetites.
Hamburgers can be customized with any of the more than a dozen toppings ranging from the traditional lettuce and tomato, to sauteed mushrooms with hot sauce. French fries are also available in regular or Cajun-seasoned varieties. Ketchup and malt vinegar are available for dipping. Since the burgers are made to order, boxes of peanuts are kept around the store giving customers something to snack on while they wait.
"We also have our kosher hot dogs," Langdon said. "We're very proud to use Hebrew National hot dogs. They're a great brand, and the product they produce is much better than your average hot dog. They're a quarter of a pound. I think they would do better if we had chili and coleslaw here, but we try to keep things simple here. If we ever added chili to our menu we would have to make it fresh every day. We have a high standard of quality to live up to.
"We make our grilled cheese and veggie sandwiches on a separate grill from the burgers," she said.
Langdon also offers a little advice for diners.
"We make new batches of fries every five minutes," she said. "They tend to get mushy and soggy if you let them get cold. So you should eat them rather quickly. They're not good for long car trips."
Five Guys Burgers and Fries is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Cash, check and most major credit cards (no American Express) are accepted. Gift cards are also available.
For more information call 304-781-5700 or visit www.fiveguys.com.
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