Jerry Murrell founded Five Guys Burgers & Fries (named after his five sons) in 1986. Although he studied economics at Michigan State, it was his career change from stock trader to restaurateur that made Murrell a household name.
In an April 1 Inc. Magazine article, Murrell discusses the opening of Five Guys and the company's committment to using fresh and high quality ingredients. When the company first franchised in 2002, the Virginia territory was gone in three days, Murrell said.
From the story:
Three days before we opened, I was still working as a trader in stocks and bonds and was in a hotel for a meeting in Pittsburgh. I found a book in the nightstand, next to the Bible, about JW Marriott -- he had an A&W stand that he converted and built into the Hot Shoppes chain. He said, Anyone can make money in the food business as long as you have a good product, reasonable price, and a clean place. That made sense to me.We figure our best salesman is our customer. Treat that person right, he'll walk out the door and sell for you. From the beginning, I wanted people to know that we put all our money into the food. That's why the décor is so simple -- red and white tiles. We don't spend our money on décor. Or on guys in chicken suits. But we'll go overboard on food.
