Five Guys Burgers and Fries set to open second Ann Arbor location, hiring staff of 40
The exterior of the new Five Guys Burgers and Fries location at Arborland mall in Ann Arbor.
Paula Gardner | AnnArbor.com
The owners of Five Guys Burgers and Fries have set June 4 as the grand opening for their new restaurant in Arborland Center. It is the second Ann Arbor location, and the 16th overall for franchise owners Michael Abrams, Brian Adelman and David Pittaway.
Adelman said that the Five Guys location on South State Street has been successful, but he has even higher hopes for the Arborland location. He noted that the older building, the two stories and the lack of easy parking are all factors that can hinder business at the State Street location.
The parking situation near Starbucks in the front of Arborland, at Washtenaw Avenue and U.S. 23, is known to be difficult as well, but when asked about it, Adelman was positive. “We looked at this property about a year ago, but passed on it then because of the parking,” he explained. Since then the owners have noted that other businesses in the front outlot area of the mall are performing well.
“(Arborland) offers good visibility, its readily accessible, and there is a good deal of adjacent parking; people will walk.”
Five Guys Arborland will be a 2,500 square-foot restaurant seating 65 patrons. It’s of average size for the franchise, and the 40 employees will begin training this Friday.
The restuarant will serve burgers and fries and other American favorites. The business's website calls it “the perfect teen lunch.”
Arborland Mall also has plans to welcome two other businesses this summer that consider themselves a hit among teens: Ulta and Five Below.
Angela Smith is a freelance contributor for AnnArbor.com.
Comments
Dog Guy
Sat, May 26, 2012 : 7:21 p.m.
Free parking? I'll be there.
John Hritz
Sat, May 26, 2012 : 3:20 p.m.
It's always good to hear that a new business is hiring. It would be an improvement to the article to get a breakdown of management, full-time staff and part-time positions.
Jimmy McNulty
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 7:53 p.m.
I can't recommend this place. I've tried it twice, and the buns are horrible and fall apart and the burgers are excessively greasy. A poor quality chain. The burgers at Bagger Dave's and Great Plains Burger Co. are far superior to Five Guys, just to name two.
mixmaster
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 5:43 p.m.
Welcome to our Super Size culture where not only are the burgers full of cholesterol but the people who consume them are too.
GoNavy
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 3:57 p.m.
Honestly, 5 Guys isn't that good, and it's definitely overpriced. It most certainly is inferior to Blimpy Burger, but unfortunately Blimpy requires cash so the spend-beyond-their-means-credit crowd isn't often there.
Madeleine Borthwick
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 10:16 p.m.
yep. i've eaten there myself and I honestly don't see what all the hoopla's about. of course, i do like my burgers rare and the corporate mindset is such that they are terrified that I'll sue them if I get food poisoning from an "underdone" burger....for most of my life I've eaten burgers this way and have yet to contract salmonella. so give me the greasy satisfaction of knowing that I'm not only buying local but also enjoying my burger the way I actually like it...it's called customer service which is another area that 5 guys Definitely needs to bone up on.
miman
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 3:54 p.m.
I see that old Circuit City location is still empty. Hopefully someone will move into there soon.
blueeyegirl
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 2:14 p.m.
If the owners of Five Guys read this, I would like to offer this bit of advice..... I have eaten at your restaurant. The food is good, however, it could be great if you offered a variety of cheese options on your burgers. I do care for American cheese on hamburgers. It would be great to have cheddar, blue cheese or Havarti options. I love Epic Burgers in Chicago because they offer a variety of options to top your burger. I don't eat hamburgers often, but why not have more options for those of us who occasionally splurge. :)
xmo
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 1:44 p.m.
I hope they make it!
Forever27
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 1:36 p.m.
these guys still don't hold a candle to Crazy Jim!
Madeleine Borthwick
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 10:10 p.m.
AMEN, BROTHER!!!!! give me the delectable grease of a Crazy Jim's Blimpy Burger to 5 guys any day of the week!
Unusual Suspect
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 1:34 p.m.
I really don't think FLOTUS would approve of this.
GoNavy
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 3:58 p.m.
Maybe not, but POTUS loves it.
kms
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 1:03 p.m.
There are 3 typos in this very short article!
Intrepidisme
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 12:58 p.m.
The parking is terrible in front of the Starbucks strip depending on the time of day. When visiting my Aunt in Toledo, she took me to 5 guys. About 1/2 hour after eating the fries I had an allergic reaction. Didn't realize they use peanut oil nor did I know I had an allergy to peanuts. With all of the peanut allergic people cooking in peanut oil is a bad idea. And the rest of my family had extremely bad gas after eating the burgers (sorry to be gross). Not sure what is in their meat or if it is an oil they use on the grill. Tasty but not worth the reaction.
jgold47
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 1:54 p.m.
There are signs all over the place telling people with peanut allergies not to come in. They have peanut products all over the place.
Diane
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 12:50 p.m.
We've eaten @ the Five Guy's & it's good:) Welcome!
Greg
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 11:55 a.m.
The city and this shopping center REALLY needs to do something about traffic flow in and out of this shopping center. It is bad already and seems to be getting worse all the time.
Murf
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 3:53 p.m.
TinyArtist - The point of having a Yield sign in the middle is because it applies to both lanes of traffic. If the person on the left needs to go to Chilis, they would YIELD to the right lane until it's free and vice versa for the right lane traffic that would want to make a left to 5 Guys.
Craig Lounsbury
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 12:22 p.m.
I don't have an exiting problem as I exit west toward Huron Parkway so i actually have 3 options. But I agree with TA that yield sign going in is very confusing.
TinyArtist
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 12:04 p.m.
Amen! There used to be a yield sign for traffic heading west on Washtenaw entering the center, but it has been shifted to a location that can be interpreted either way. Even when it was an obvious yield, it was still a dangerous business to get into the right lane as you entered on the left turn arrow from east-bound Washtenaw. Nobody yields any more except in trashy romances.
rs
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 11:20 a.m.
Maybe walking an extra 100' back to your car wouldn't be a bad thing after taking down 1440 calories and 85g of fat for lunch. (nutritional values of a 5 Guys cheeseburger and fries).
Peregrine
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 2:18 p.m.
Well, don't forget that the RDA for fat is 65g, so at 85g you're already 31% over that.
Hmm
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 1:07 p.m.
If that's all you eat for the day you would be under your RDA 2000 calorie limit. Or if you eat a light dinner you are still in a healthy caloric range for the day, so what is the problem?
Harry
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 12:52 p.m.
mmmmm hamburgers
Craig Lounsbury
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 12:19 p.m.
indeed.
yaah
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 10:41 a.m.
The parking is not really a problem, there is a huge lot about 50 feet away. You don't HAVE to park in that small annoying lot in front of starbucks/noodles and company. You can park 50 feet away and walk. I never have a problem. The small lot is a terrible design, they should probably just eliminate it and go with the rest of the lot except for handicapped spots or something.
Arieswoman
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 10:24 a.m.
That out lot at Arborland is the main reason I don't go to Noodles & Co. very much. It is hard to get in and out of there with cars zipping by! Poor design even coming and going from the mall.