Five Guys takes on might of McDonalds with ‘speak-easy’ Sydney CBD location

Twenty people were queuing at the newest Five Guys eatery before it even opened. But is the American import any good?

Such is the pull of US burger joint Five Guys that there was a 20-person deep line at its new city store at 11am. Before it had even opened!

After launching in Penrith last year, the brand opened its second store in the city on Monday.

The restaurant is tucked away in an alley off George Street and they will be take on the might of McDonalds next door.

Adam Issa, Group Marketing Manager for Seagrass Hospitality who brought the brand to Australia, said the secret location was deliberately chosen for its “speak-easy” vibes.

“We wanted to keep it a place which people have to find and search for. That’s the idea behind Five Guys. You have to find great burgers,” said Issa.

People waiting to order at the opening of cult US fast food franchise Five Guys in the Sydney CBD. Picture: Justin Lloyd

He’s also not afraid of comparisons to the American fast food franchise next door.

“Every burger chain has respect. When people come to Five Guys they know what they expect so that’s all they really care about really,” he said.

Santino and Mardi were among the first to get their hands on a Five Guys burger. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Five Guys has developed a cult following in the US for its menu that focuses on fresh ingredients, house-made patties and fries, a range of 15 toppings and sauces and the fact they don’t use freezers or microwaves.

Basketball great Shaquille O’Neal is one of the celebrity Five Guys franchisees. He has owned 155 of the eateries.

The chain prides itself on fresh ingredients.

The popularity is such they already have plans to open another 15 stores in Australia before moving into the New Zealand.

SO IS A FIVE GUYS BURGER WORTH IT?

The Mouth

Here’s a fun little question to ponder at your next suburban barbecue or inner-city dinner party: When does a cult become an institution?

The Romans, of course, considered Christianity a weird little cult until the Emperor Constantine signed the Edict of Milan and became one of its early patrons, spurring it to grow into one of the world’s great faiths.

In modern times cults can be anything from a charismatic weird beard with a few followers on a country property to massive organisations like the Scientologists or the Moonies.

Occasionally, of course, cults take seriously dark turns indeed. Think Jim Jones’ People’s Temple’s grim end in the jungles of Guyana, which gave us the phrase, “to drink the Kool-aid”.

Interior of the Five Guys restaurant on George St, Sydney.

This is why this column has always found it darkly amusing that food outlets so often get described – often with some helpful seeding by enterprising PR types – as having a “cult” following.

Really, is there any chain restaurant so good it would make people cut off contact with their families or sign over their inheritances just for another bite?

Apparently a lot of people think so: Google “Five Guys burgers”, which just opened its second Australian outlet in George Street next to the Apple Store in the CBD, and you will see it uniformly described as a “cult” US burger chain.

The chain may have a cult following, but it comes at a cost.

Again, this is amusing, because with around 1,500 outlets around the world, surely Five Guys has gone beyond “cult” to “institution”, yes?

Well, perhaps.

Except that at $19 (!) for a basic cheeseburger, before you add on fries (starting at $5.90) and a milkshake (a shade under a tenner), you’re definitely buying your enlightenment by the pound and wondering if the company has a fleet of Rollers out the back.

Because what you get for your money is a very tasty but very expensive burger: Not quite a classic American “smash” burger but not a stupid and unwieldy tower either, the Five Guys standard is basically what a Double Quarter Pounder wishes it could be but knows in its heart it never will.

Again, it’s really lovely, but it is hard to see who the market is here – especially as you can get a whole Big Mac meal for around $12, while this column’s local serves a great burger including fries for $22 in a convivial beer garden.

Barely getting change for a $50 for a weekday office lunch seems steep, and a family stopping in could wind up spending $200 without too much difficulty.

Five Guys may be good, but it’s definitely one for the true believers.