Five Guys Burgers and Fries Coming to Burlington

More good news for burger lovers. Months after the in Burlington there is now news of another popular burger chain coming to town.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries will soon be opening in the Middlesex Commons, 43 Middlesex Turnpike. Five Guys Manager Marc Magerman was at last night's Board of Selectmen meeting for the board's approval of a common victuallers license, the final approval needed before opening up shop.

Magerman said the restaurant is currently hiring employees to help get the restaurant set up for a March 5 opening. Magerman said Five Guys will hire roughly 50 employees to help get everything set up and will retain between 38 and 40 part and full-time employees to run the location.

"Our hope is we can hire and train our new employees and be on on the fifth of March," Magerman told the board.

According to a Craglist advertisement, Five Guys is currently looking for shift supervisors and crew members for all shifts to join the team. Anyone interested in applying can visit www.massburgers.com for more information.

The Burlington location will be the eighth Five Guys restaurant in Massachusetts. They currently have spots in Framingham, Marlborough, Medford, Natick, Worcester, Stoneham and Shrewsbury. Also, according to Westford Patch, there are plans for a Five Guys in Westford set to open this fall.

Five Guys Burger and Fries is a Virginia based company that was started in 1986. It grew slowly at first, adding only five more stores before 2001. In that time, according to the company's own history, it grew a customer base and in the last decade has expanded to over 900 locations across the country.

According to Magerman, the philosophy of Five Guys is to serve quality food in a fun environment.

"We have fresh food, loud music, large plates of fries and greasy bags," he said. "We only use fresh ingredients, we don't even have a freezer."

Along with burgers and fries, Five Guys sells hotdogs, vegetable sandwiches and grilled cheese sandwiches, according to their online menu.

One concern, expressed by a couple of readers on Burlington Patch's Facebook page as we live-reported a quick announcement from the meeting, is that Five Guys' burgers, while large serving sizes, are also relatively high in calories and fat. A look at the restaurant's nutritional information shows that one of their cheeseburgers has 840 calories and 55 total grams of fat. A McDonald's Big Mac, according to that company, has 540 calories and 29 grams of fat.

That, however, may not faze burger enthusiasts. As one reader posted on our Facebook page, "I love Five Guys — horrible for you just like a good burger and fries should be."

What do you think about Five Guys coming to town? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.