Is there any truth behind rumors about Five Guys closing locations? To start, Five Guys as a fast-foot chain is not closing down. Now that you can breathe easier, I dig into the financial details and background of this rumor.

This hearsay initially gained traction on Twitter (now X) back in 2020 when a small number of locations did closed Texas during the midst of the recent health crisis. These reports seemed credible since there were a small number of underperforming units in select markets that shuttered their doors permanently. But if you take a more national and global look at the burger chain, you’ll see the restaurant continues to grow in number of units and sales.

Are all Five Guys Closing Down?

Why did people think Five Guys was closing down everywhere? Five Guys Burgers and Fries did close low-performing restaurants in Texas but it was a part of their business strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of writing, Five Guys has still has 66 restaurant locations in Texas so they are very much still open for business.

Part of this misunderstanding is understandable of course. The pandemic has brought a lot of general uneasiness in the economy and hit the restaurant industry hard. During this time period, an estimated 80,000 restaurants closed down. But rest assured, the Five Guys Burgers and Fries franchise is still open and even growing globally. More on that later.

Shaq's five guys

Shaq previously had an ownership interest in 155 Five Guys units.

There may be some locations that are closed. Here are some of the locations that I can confirm have closed:

No reasons have been cited as to why they closed permanently. The following are additional Five Guys locations that have closed with t reasons why:

    • Five Guys (Ann Arbor, Michigan) – This location closed down since according to the district manager Mike Pittiglio the high rent on State Street and customer base was not enough to cover their expenses.
    • Five Guys (3405 N. Fourth St. Longview, TX) – The reason for this closure was because their lease expired and the landlord did not want to renew it.
    • 27 locations in Texas: Five Guys sold 27 of their locations in November 2020 to Encore Restaurants LLC.

It’s highly recommended to call the Five Guys near your location before visiting to know whether or not they’re open to serve you. While there has been some shakeup in the state of Texas over the past three years, the burger chain is far from closing up shop.

Is Five-Guys Actually Expanding?

So if Five Guys closing was all a rumor, are they actually expanding? They are! On their website, Five Guys mentioned that they have over 1,500 units in development. “We want to enter six to eight new countries every single year,” Jason Lee, Sr. Director, International Supply Chain said of the development.

Franchise Times reported that Five Guys had a unit growth of 3.8% this year. In addition, Five Guys expanded their global market by opening stores in the following countries:

  • France – 4 Stores
  • Germany – 5 Stores
  • United Kingdom – 19 Stores
  • Australia – 2 Stores
  • China – 3 Stores
  • Malaysia – 1 Store
  • Singapore – 1 Store
  • Hong Kong – 1 Store
  • Italy – 3 Stores
  • KSA – 2 Stores
  • Spain – 6 Stores
  • UAE – 4 Stores

Furthermore, Five Guys opened their first Seoul location in June 2023. Hundreds of customers lined up on opening day with one customer going viral for reselling two burgers and large fries for $76 online.

As might be expected, the burger chain continues to grow successfully not just in the United States but globally as well.

What is the financial performance of Five Guys?

The world’s economy has suffered during the pandemic. But Five Guys Burgers and Fries continued to grow during this difficult time. As for Five Guys, their sales have grown to 22.7%. Their global sales have reached $2,790,474,334.

In fact, here’s the revenue growth over the past five years. Does this look like a burger chain that’s going out of business anytime soon?

Global Sales: 

  • 2018: $1,964,000
  • 2019: $2,181,000
  • 2020: $2,275,000
  • 2021: $2,790,000
  • 2022: $3,030,000

Number of Units: 

  • 2018: 1,579
  • 2019: 1,633
  • 2020: 1,670
  • 2021: 1,733
  • 2022: 1,800
total units and sales Five Guys

Total Units and Sales for Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

Five Guys is also a strong franchise brand with franchise owners generating $1,203,366 in sales annually. The franchise startup fee with them is $25,000 and development fees start at $50,000. To learn more about how to franchise Five Guys, check out my full franchise guide here.

There is also indication that Wall Street is taking notice of the Five Guys business model based on this research document from 2022. This document gives us insights into how some of the smartest business minds view Five Guys from a financial viability perspective:

  • Issuance of $200 million in class A-2 fixed-rate notes: This indicates that Five Guys is raising capital, possibly for expansion or other strategic initiatives.
  • Acquisition of 89 stores from Encore Restaurants LLC: Acquiring stores from its largest franchisee suggests that Five Guys is looking to have more control over its operations and possibly improve profitability from these stores.
  • Debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of 6.8x: This is a measure of leverage. A higher ratio might indicate that the company is taking on a significant amount of debt compared to its earnings. Whether this is “high” or “low” would depend on industry standards and comparable companies.
  • Diverse Revenue Streams: The company has multiple sources of revenue. This is a positive sign as it reduces dependency on a single income source.
  • Key credit features: The long operating history, strong brand recognition, stable sales growth, and geographic diversity are all positive indicators of the company’s stability and potential for growth.

You can view the full Five Guys Burger and Fries menu here with updated prices. But the chain specializes in classic American menu: Hamburgers, Cheeseburgers, Bacon Burgers, and Bacon Cheeseburgers.

Did you also know that Five Guys serve all-beef hotdogs? You can also find the following:

  • Hotdog
  • Cheese Dog
  • Bacon Dog
  • Bacon Cheese Dog

Hotdogs and hamburgers aren’t the only things on the menu at Five Guys. They also serve sandwiches such as veggie sandwiches, cheese veggie sandwiches, BLTs, and grilled cheese. Of course the signature item is hand-cut Five Guys fries which are regular fries and Cajun Style. All fries are cooked in 100% peanut oil.

Five-Guys-menu-prices

Five Guys Menu Prices.

Relieved that Five Guys isn’t going away? Take heart in knowing you’ll be able to dine at this chain for the foreseeable future.

What is Five Guys?

Five Guys is an American burger chain that started in 1986 in Virginia. The business was founded by the Murrell family and the name ‘Five Guys’ is because of their five sons. The business grew over the years and in 2003, Five Guys started offering franchising.

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Five Guys serves up hamburgers that use fresh ground beef. In fact, the chain is known for keeping things simple. For instance, they also only use peanut oil to cook fries. Five Guys also takes pride in not using any freezers in any of their locations which means everything is fresh and not preserved for a long period of time. They only use coolers.

From a small family business, Five Guys has grown to over 1,500 restaurants in the United States, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. At one time, the former basketball store and entrepreneur had an ownership interest in 155 of these units.