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Five Guys - fading away?

May 12, 2026 02:00AM
Media reports out today that Five Guys is closing several locations, looks primarily to be
in California - reports say their prices are keeping customers away...surprised, lol. I don't know how they
can compete with In N Out, better meal at half the price.
The locations near me are nearly empty whenever I go in.

Life was passing like a hand waving from a train I wanted to be on


Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2026 02:03AM by BarefootBliss.
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More About Five Guys Mystery Shopping
May 12, 2026 02:22AM
I too notice they are empty.
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May 12, 2026 07:18AM
They seem to get a lot of DoorDash customers, but few in store. The one in my city went out of business many years ago. It's also ridiculous that their credit card terminals ask for a tip on top of their outrageous prices.
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May 12, 2026 08:28AM
@BarefootBliss

Yes, if you are talking strictly $ vs $, In N Out is the better deal. But if you look at the patty size and compare, to get the same amount of burger at In N Out that you get with 5g, it's not that much more. You also get more fries and BETTER fries at 5g.

I love In N Out and will go there on my own dime. I love 5g, but I am not willing to spend my own money there.

But it is not a fair comparison on the surface to say it's just cheaper. You are getting basically half as much food, so it should be cheaper. There are many things you can consistently count on with In N Out, but one is that their employees are top notch. Of course they are people and are not perfect. I'm sure someone can give an example of a crappy experience, but 99% of the employees actually care (or are the best at faking they do).

It's like Costco employees vs Sam's Club. Not even close.
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May 12, 2026 09:38AM
@mjt9598 wrote:

They seem to get a lot of DoorDash customers, but few in store. The one in my city went out of business many years ago. It's also ridiculous that their credit card terminals ask for a tip on top of their outrageous prices.

Well that goes to the employees directly and when it's inside our reimbursement, why not?

They're opening new FGs around me so...*shrugs*.
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May 12, 2026 10:44AM
You're right, their meals are not exactly the same...I was just remembering those 5G locations I saw this winter that were in the same shopping plaza as an In N Out - so in my mind, those were direct lunch or dinner competitors and the In N Out stores were ALWAYS packed, except perhaps for a lull in the 2-4PM timeframe....
every single location I visited this past winter in AZ, CA and NV were full and busy. Not so with FG. Also FG here in the east, rarely see a busy one.
I didn't see any Dashers around In N Out stores out west so can't comment on that.

Life was passing like a hand waving from a train I wanted to be on
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May 12, 2026 12:56PM
The Five Guys in my area are very well managed and always have a steady take-out business. I hope they remain in business for a long time. That said, I always visit In N Out when I travel out West.
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May 12, 2026 02:54PM
5G doesn't have servers. I don't tip someone for handing me a paper sack.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2026 03:44PM by jgardn02.
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May 13, 2026 05:56AM
I like In N Out fries. I'd rather them every single time over almost any other fast food french fry no matter how much they put in the bag at 5G. Unfortunately, it's going to be a very long time before I get to have In N Out anything again, so 5G french fries will have to be good enough in the mean time.
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May 13, 2026 07:05AM
@jgardn02 wrote:

5G doesn't have servers. I don't tip someone for handing me a paper sack.

it's not even your money.
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May 13, 2026 09:21AM
i tend to use tip jars to tip people who hand me things...mostly for them pouring coffee

Life was passing like a hand waving from a train I wanted to be on
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May 13, 2026 04:59PM
Their burgers are kind of flat. They need to season their patties.
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May 13, 2026 06:36PM
Just a few locations in California... are these few owned by Five Guys or franchisees?

Who said so? Why did they say it?!
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May 13, 2026 07:23PM
Their hot dogs are really good.
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May 13, 2026 10:20PM
$13.99 LITTLE burger combo seen at a location on 5/11/2026. little burger, little fries, reg soda. It's not that terrible. I think a Double Double combo is up to $11-$12 now.
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May 13, 2026 11:26PM
Dont forget that Five Guys gives you many topping choices and you can ask for extra. I like to get a burger without a bun and add extra lettuce and extra tomatoes plus more items to make a big burger salad.
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May 14, 2026 01:40AM
@weatherman2111 wrote:

@mjt9598 wrote:

They seem to get a lot of DoorDash customers, but few in store. The one in my city went out of business many years ago. It's also ridiculous that their credit card terminals ask for a tip on top of their outrageous prices.

Well that goes to the employees directly and when it's inside our reimbursement, why not?

They're opening new FGs around me so...*shrugs*.

LOL, inside our reimbursement? At 5 Guys?
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May 14, 2026 02:04AM
@Shop-et-al wrote:

Just a few locations in California... are these few owned by Five Guys or franchisees?

There are about 120 5G stores in Ca with most being franchises.

FGO’s are primarily on the east coast. If you look at the FDD for 5G you can see what you expect to make, as well as a variety of other documents. Closing stores/restaurants not always a bad thing. It’s normal course of work and while sales may appear to be low, you never can be sure what the purpose is for a franchisee to keep a location open (think taxes and/or debt dump).
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May 14, 2026 07:35AM
@bradkcrew wrote:

@weatherman2111 wrote:

@mjt9598 wrote:

They seem to get a lot of DoorDash customers, but few in store. The one in my city went out of business many years ago. It's also ridiculous that their credit card terminals ask for a tip on top of their outrageous prices.

Well that goes to the employees directly and when it's inside our reimbursement, why not?

They're opening new FGs around me so...*shrugs*.

LOL, inside our reimbursement? At 5 Guys?

With the combo, yep. I can leave a 10% tip and be either at or within .50 of the reimbursement.
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May 14, 2026 11:07AM
For 2026, it is the closure of 14 FG store locations across multiple states.
Of course locations open and close all the time without fanfare.
However, a story like this does not get splashed across the major business news outlets unless it's considered
a possible bellwether event - hence my original post.

[www.fastcompany.com]

On a related note, major corporations have recently been announcing their layoff events due to the encroachment of AI. We haven't started shopping those yet....so I haven't mentioned those here LOL.

Life was passing like a hand waving from a train I wanted to be on


Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 05/14/2026 11:13AM by BarefootBliss.
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May 17, 2026 03:36AM
The Five Guys near me are always busy. We do not have In and Out here. If anyone is on Upside all of the Five Guys near me are on it and some give back 21%.
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May 17, 2026 09:49AM
thank you for mentioning that.

Life was passing like a hand waving from a train I wanted to be on
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