Who's Behind the Counter: Tyler Burley at Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Since moving to Maryland three years ago, Tyler Burley has stayed devoted to the company that gave him his first opportunity to work on the grille.

Now a manager at the on Owings Mills Boulevard, Burley is enjoying his time running the show—even if things get heated (temperature-wise) behind the counter.

Burley sat down with Patch to talk about why he loves the Five Guys burger, how his kitchen staff compares to a sports team and more.

What do you like about workings in Owings Mills and where are you from originally?

I’m originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I’ve been down here for three years and I’ve been working with Five Guys for three years. I like the Owings Mills environment and the attitude that the employees here bring.

What appeals to you about Five Guys in general that’s kept you here for three years?

It’s just the way they run things here, the culture of Five Guys. We don’t advertise or have any kind of commercials, so what they do is bring all the [saved money] back to the employees, which comes to bonus money which is up to $700 a week for everybody every week. That’s a really great incentive to keep your employees working.

What do you think makes a Five Guys’ burger special compared to the competition?

The special thing about Five Guys is that we don’t have a freezer. We don’t freeze anything. We prep everything that day. Like this morning when we came in, everything is fresh. That’s the best thing about it. We get two truck [deliveries] a week that bring in the fresh food. The process we have of making our burgers is something unique. We don’t just throw it on the grille and let it sit until it cooks. We have a process and a timing that we use for our burgers.

How about the fact that there are only a few different options on but you have so many different ways of crafting a burger?

I believe there’s like a 110 different combinations you can go with, just the simple toppings we have. We try and keep it real simple and not get over the top. There’s definitely things you can make that make Five Guys a little different. But, they want to keep Five Guys the way they started it, so that’s the real cool thing about it.

Say it’s dinnertime and the line is around to the door and it’s getting real busy. What’s the key to making the food the right way but also getting the customers out quickly?

Absolutely. It’s just knowing the process. The employees here, everybody is set up with their strengths, especially on the line. At this store here, we’ve all been together—every single one of us—since I got here. We have a good chemistry in the kitchen and that works out real well.

Did you play any sports when you were young? That sounds like a sports philosophy, you know?

Yeah, I played football and baseball.

So yeah, do you see that teamwork kind of aspect creep into Five Guys?

Absolutely. Just knowing the person next to you and trusting them to get the food out there. Not only working in the different stations, but me overseeing everything and just to trust that he’s going to do the right thing makes it easier for me.

When you eat here, what’s your burger order? How do you make it?

I get a regular bacon cheeseburger with mayo, pickles, BBQ sauce and a regular fry.

After a long shift, you’ve been on your feet awhile. What’s the first thing you like to do when you get home?

Relax. Cool down. It’s hot in the kitchen. I watch TV and I’m really a Modern Warfare guy. I've been on XBox for eight years now. I've never switched over [to Play Station].

Say I was opening a Five Guys and I came to you for advice, what would you tell me so my business ran successfully?

Food quality and customer service. Customer service keeps them coming back. And the good food is going to keep them loving the Five Guys burger and telling their relatives about it. During the holidays, we’ve had people bringing their families in to try the Five Guys burger because some places don’t have the Five Guys close to them yet.