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FontServing up some fun, along with tasty burgers and fries, Five Guys Restaurant offers an entertaining dining experience. In fact, its casual ambiance is so relaxed that guests are encouraged to munch on peanuts while they wait for their food and throw all of the shells onto the floor.
Its open kitchen allows customers to observe a constant interplay of jokes exchanged among the Five Guys' young crew. Lined up in an assembly line, they keep things moving steadily from the moment an order is taken to the time the food is put on the grill, to when it is placed in customers' hands.
"I love watching what goes on behind the scenes as I wait for my food," said a six-year old girl. "It's almost as much fun as eating!"
Dana Marona, 23, co-owner with her brother, Nick, 25, of the Five Guys' Fairfield County franchise, constantly hears positive feedback from satisfied customers, she said.
The 41,000-square-foot site in Westport is the third location owned by the brother and sister team. Their parents, Robert and Mariann, are the business' primary investors while their younger brother, Robert Jr., 15, helps out behind-the-scenes.
High visibility and proximity to Fairfield had much to do with the family's decision to open its third Five Guys on the Post Road, across from the Westport Fire station.
"It's right in the heart of Westport," Dana explained. "We liked this property, too, because it was near to the downtown area but also close to Fairfield."
The Marona family resides in Newtown, the site of their first Five Guys Restaurant. They also own a second restaurant in Brookfield, and a fourth Five Guys is planned for Norwalk.
"It's a great place to work and to eat," Dana said. "People love it."
Since opening three weeks ago, lines have been out of the door of the Westport restaurant and crowds have continuously filled its 87 seats.
"We are absolutely thrilled that Five Guys has come to Westport," said Lisa Thygerson, executive director of the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce. "I think it's going to bring a lot of people to Westport. I know that their business in Newtown has contributed well to the town and I'm sure they're going to be a great asset for our community, too."
Thygerson not only observed the lines outdoors but noted that they began forming earlier than when lunch crowds typically arrive.
Dana concurred that during the restaurant's first two weeks, the flow of customer traffic was so high that it took her staff longer to get customers their food than she would have liked.
"Five Guys prides itself on delivering your order in seven minutes or less, but with the high volume we've had, we may have taken a few minutes more," she admitted. "However, Five Guys is also known for making sure that our customers are always happy."
Tim Shephard, 20, co-manager of the Westport Five Guys, agreed.
Along with producing juicy burgers with an option of 15 free toppings, hand-cut french fries made from Idaho potatoes and hot dogs grilled to perfection, Five Guys Restaurant's reputation as a relaxed, happy place undoubtedly attracts customers of all ages.
"It's a great place to work, that's for sure," Shephard said.
He started working part-time for its Newtown location four years ago, when it first opened. Dana and Nick hand-picked him to help run the day-to-day operation of the new Westport site.
All of Westport's 43 full and part-time employees are required to undergo extensive training before relegated to the restaurant's floor.
"Tim is exactly the kind of energetic person that we look to hire," Nick explained. "We have a fantastic staff here that's top notch."
Dana agreed, adding that she is pleased with how the Westport crew has caught on to the Five Guys mission. Tim explained that the best part of working at Five Guys is the camaraderie among the crew.
"It's fun coming to work at a place where everyone is laughing and happy," he said. "Working in an open kitchen is fun because it's like a show we put on for everyone to watch. I get to see the customers that I'm serving, and that's great."
Nick and Dana, too, work together with their crew in preparing the food and then putting orders together in the assembly line.
"We're very hands-on," said Nick. "When we come to work, we roll up our sleeves and work. We're not the type of manager who hides in the office in the backroom. We get out there and work the line with the staff."
Five Guys prides itself on providing fresh food every time a customer places an order. Meat is not pre-cooked and there are no freezers located on its premises.
For this reason, Dana arrives at 8 each morning to get a jump start on cutting, slicing and the overall preparation all of the toppings, breads, meats and potatoes. She said that bacon, which is one of the restaurant's most popular toppings, takes the most time each morning to cook.
"All of the potatoes are also cut up every day," she added.
Five Guys' red and white décor has been prevalent in the Virginia and Washington, D.C., area since 1986. President Barack Obama created media frenzy last spring when he made an impromptu stop at a local Five Guys to order lunch for some of his White House staff members.
"You wouldn't believe how many people came in and asked what he ordered exactly," Tim said, smiling. (According to national media, the Obama reportedly enjoyed cheeseburgers and fries.)
Voted by the Washingtonian Magazine as its No. 1 readers' choice for hamburgers each year since 1999, and highly rated by the ZAGAT survey since 2001, Five Guys has redefined the term "fast food."
Although its menu selection is limited, Five Guys believes in consistently putting forth a good product, states its Web site.
Dana explained that the food at each site is prepared in exactly the same way so that customers receive a consistent, high-quality meal. For example, all of the bread used by Five Guys is made from a special recipe and purchased from the same bakery. Its potatoes are all from the same farm, too, Dana added.
In addition, Dana said that the fries are pre-cooked and left to dry so that the starch is drained out of them. They are then cooked again and shaken out for a specific number of times.
"It's down to a science," she explained.
This is how Five Guys maintains quality control at all of its 553 restaurants nationwide.
It was Nick who first brought the restaurant to his family's attention several years ago. They had been living in a Virginia suburb when he went with his high school buddies to a Five Guys.
Nick recalled, "It was a fantastic experience. The place was busy. There were peanut shells everywhere, and I loved the burger and fries."
Although Five Guys hadn't started its franchise operation yet, Nick encouraged his father to look into it as a business opportunity. Nick went on to major in business administration at college -- as did Dana -- and when the family relocated to Fairfield County, they revisited the idea of owning their own Five Guys.
Dana explained that the franchise agreement requires that they open 10 restaurants in 10 years.
"We're right on schedule," she said.
Five Guys, located at 583 Post Road E., Westport, can be reached at (203) 557-4250.
