Five Guys — Restaurant in Duluth

My immediate and extended family were regulars at the Duluth Five Guys in their early days. Their burgers were juicy and flavorful, the fries a cornucopia of crispy, salty, potatoey goodness. The atmosphere was fun, reminiscent of a diner with peppy music, checkered tile, and cozy (if not cramped) tables.

Every trip to Five Guys was a pilgrimage of sorts. We were going out for the best burgers and fries in town. In the region. Possibly within 150 miles!

Over the last year or so (maybe more), that experience has slipped dramatically. We've ordered hot dogs for our son that have come without any of the toppings he requested (which means, of course, that he won't eat it at all), french fry orders have been scant (more on this below), and service has been rushed and (at times) inattentive.

On the subject of fries. One of the cool things about Five Guys is the overflow fries. When you order a burger and fries, you'll be handed a bag with a foil-wrapped burger loaded with whatever of dozens of toppings you selected, a small cup of fries and a hefty few handfuls of additional "overflow" fries to top it all off. The result is a brown bag filled with crispy, salty, juicy goodness. The bag itself will develop spots from where the hot fries are contacting the surface of the paper. The sign of a great Five Guys order (as awful as it may sound to some) is that greasy bag. The last three times we've ordered from Five Guys, we've been handed pristine brown paper bags. No grease. No overflow. Basically, no fries. At $3.50 for a regular (the size of a fast food small soda) and $5.00 for a large (the size of a medium fast food soda) fry, one expects sufficient fryage to last, bite-for-bite, with the burger at the bottom of the bag. This has not been the case.

After the third incident, I actually went to the counter and asked for additional fries to "top off" cups (we had 3 orders total) that were barely filled to the top with NO overflow. I had to justify this request by mentioning that I (the deliverer of the food) would be griped at by at least one recipient of the food if I failed to provide sufficient fries. I was reluctantly provided with approximately 6 additional french fries which fell, limp and sad, around the partly-filled cups into the bottom of the bag.

I finished my burger with chips from the cupboard that evening. Our pickiest family member got what little overflow we were granted and claimed she had enough. That, at least, was a relief.

After dinner, we spent about an hour collaboratively drafting a letter of complaint to Five Guys to talk about our consistent disappointment in our dining experience. Keep in mind, this was a complaint about repeated negative experiences, not a one-time, "new-guy-in-training," whoopsie mistake. In response, we received what appears to be a form letter thanking us for being miserable and... well, that's about it. Here's the letter with only names omitted:

"Thank you for taking the time to let us know about your experience at Five Guys.

We apologize for the unacceptable service you received, and appreciate the opportunity that we have to learn from this issue and prevent it from happening in the future.

Thank you for visiting Five Guys."

The form-letter was signed by the Director of Development for Credo LLC housed in Clearwater, MN (151 miles from Duluth).

In spite of our prior love for the food, our relationship with Five Guys has turned like cream left too long past its expiration date. The "Dear John" letter (quoted above) dismissing our growing concerns and complaints confirmed our ex-status with Five Guys...

We placed our order to go and waited inside the restaurant. When it was ready we grabbed our brown paper bag and walked out to our car. Upon unwrapping my plain cheeseburger, I found i had a cheeseburger with everything on it. I returned to the store and spoke with the staff. The staff was attentive to my situation. They listened to me, made me a new cheeseburger the way I originally ordered. The staff went one step above and also prepared some hot French fries so I would not have to eat cold ones with my burger. I was so impressed by their excellent customer service. Taped to the front of my new brown paper bag was a $10 gift card for my trouble. Wow! Five Guys knows how to make a customer feel valued. It is a rare occurrence these days to get both good service and delicious food at the same time. I was pleased to receive both...

The lettuce wrapped little bacon burger was great! The bacon was so crispy and flavorful and the lettuce was crunchy and fresh.

The fries were too dark this time and the cup they were in had condensation on the inside indicating they'd sat there for a little bit. I like my fries softer, so that was OK, but they really shouldn't have been that dark. Not burned, but not as tasty as golden brown. Last time I was there, the fries were fine, that's why it's four stars rather than lower.

I like that they have peanuts to snack on while you wait, and that they have malt vinegar to put on your fries. Someday, I'll have to try...