Important, critical, life-changing news! That’s right! Five Guys is opening a branch in Shanghai! One of the Great-Burger-Chains-We-Wish-Was-In-China has finally, finally dropped the last bit of its appellate.
Opens April 26, details here.
A bright red hoarding for Five Guys with big white letters has popped up on Shaanxi Nan Lu, near Huaihai Zhong Lu. It’s a large street-front bay in the aging mall across from IAPM. Kind of a weird spot for such a famous burger brand. Shake Shack landed on some prime real estate in Xintiandi. You won’t see me complaining: this is way closer to home!
The first Five Guys opened in 1986, in Arlington, Virginia. It franchised itself in 2003, and sold something like 300 venues in under two years, all through word of mouth and the reputation it had built up. Nearly 20 years later, there are almost 1,700 locations worldwide and another 1,500 units in development.
It’s on a lot of “top 10 burger chains” articles, and unlike In-N-Out, which has been teasing a local market entry for years, Five Guys has actually decided to give Shanghai a shot.
Information we have is slim for now, but we’ve been promised more details around the middle of April, with an opening around late April/early May.
Very excited to get some fresh-cut fries and hand-shaped burgers with my choice of toppings. Fingers crossed it does better than Fatburger.
