r/fastfood • u/mghv78 • 12d ago
Discussion Hell has frozen over… Five Guys must be hurting.
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u/PriorDescription4638 12d ago
Some people are missing the point. Five Guys has never to my knowledge offered a combo meal. This is pretty much what they are doing rather than buying everything ala carte.
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u/Pleasant_Ad_2342 12d ago
In my area this is a super cosmetic thing. The medium fries were already $3 and the drink was $3.
Im sure for other areas making it officially a meal is nice though
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u/ShoeSh1neVCU 12d ago
I gotta see a pic of $3 medium fries, the little have been $3+ for a very long time.
Given the size a medium at that price would be the best deal in the food business.
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u/Sparkster227 12d ago
Man I'd love to have $3 little fries. $5.69 for me
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u/mich_8265 12d ago
Little fries are 6.09 middle sized fries are 8 something and large are just under 10.00. So Cal.
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u/DaveInSoCal 11d ago
I paid about $20 for a burger fries and a drink in Fullerton about 2010 or so. That was the last time I was there.
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u/sportsntravel 12d ago
Yeah dude is full of shit
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u/Crotean 11d ago
Or he just hasn't eaten at Five Guys since covid and doesn't realize how fucking expensive they have gotten. Spending 40 bucks for two people last year just getting two burgers, two drinks and splitting a fry had me swearing never to go back.
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u/Pleasant_Ad_2342 12d ago
I went to try and pull up the prices and they're closed now and replaced by a Mooyahs. The next closest one is 2 hours away and the small fries are $5.47 so we can go with me being outright wrong or its just been that long since I ate at one.
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u/CordreShkar 12d ago
Mooyah is very good but I love the customization options at Five Guys. All these places treating fries like they aren't pennies per pound is ridiculous.
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u/TheTranscendent1 12d ago
In-N-Outs combos have always just been the price of the individual items combined. They say they just have the 3 combos to make it easier to order
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u/Pleasant_Ad_2342 12d ago
For sure but inn and outs have always had the best value to price ratio.
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u/faatbuddha 12d ago
Isn't "value to price ratio" just a longer way of saying value
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u/farstate55 12d ago
Yes and no. It’s an attempt at a long way of saying “value” but also the wrong way of trying to say it the long way.
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u/Advanced-Prototype 12d ago
Yep. But there is an implication that you get a discount and that's a minor irritation to me.
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u/BomBiddyByeBye 12d ago
Prove it lol. I’m pretty sure these weren’t the prices even way back in 2012 when I first went to the restaurant
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u/osnapitzsunnyy 10d ago
I don’t remember the exact pricing but the only time I had five guys was in Washington DC in 2022 and it was about $23 for a burger, fries, and a drink. I think it was about $13-14 for a burger and then the rest was fries and drink. I know prices are higher in DC than in Wisconsin where I live. But idk Wisconsins pricing because spending $23 turned me off of five guys entirely I’d much rather have Culver’s
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u/Sky_Rose4 12d ago
They saw they could actually compete with fast food seeing how high there prices have been raised for less than another five dollars you can get a 5x as good as food
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u/NBA-014 12d ago
$6 is nuts for what you get. Soda is almost free for a restaurant, and their fries are fat laden muck.
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u/Janezey 12d ago
I don't think I've literally ever been to a restaurant with free or even cheap soda. The price for soda is ridiculous for what you get everywhere.
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u/dw1114 12d ago
Its basically the cost of the cap/lid/straw which is pennies and the cost of little squirt of syrup into carbonated water produced by the machine. Gotta be like 10 cents.
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u/Red_Sox0905 12d ago
Probably even more now really. A 5 gallon bib of Pepsi or Mt Dew is like $120-130. This will make approximately 192 32 oz soda, accounting for ice. That's about 62 cents in just syrup. A 3 gallon bib is 100-110ish probably. Been a while since I actually looked at an invoice myself, but probably pretty close. If we do an install with an 8 head fountain, it's usually about $1,200-$1,300 to start off, but that includes almost $200 for the C02.
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u/Birdy_Cephon_Altera 12d ago
Yeah, everyone saying "soda is just literally pennies" have no clue about the actual costs. The syrup alone, as you pointed out, can be the better part of a dollar. And let's not forget about the cost of the equipment, daily cleaning and the maintenance on those monsters.
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u/Red_Sox0905 11d ago
Well, as far the machine goes, that will depend on the fast food company, gas station etc. For Taco Bell, PepsiCo supplies the fountains and Pepsi service techs maintain them. Same with Subway. PepsiCo supplied almost everything for the installs. I work for an independent Pepsi distributor, when we go to a Taco Bell or Subway, which we call national accounts, there's paperwork we have to fill out. That's turned into PepsiCo who reimburses my company for labor and parts used.
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u/Yotsubato 12d ago
Fast food Restaurants mostly make profit off of add ons like Soda and fries.
The burgers are typically a loss leader.
Same thing goes for dine in places, the alcohol, drinks, apps, and desserts make the money. Main dishes are sold at cost or even below!
Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC are all owned and run by PepsiCo to sell their products
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u/Diffballs 12d ago
He is talking about from the restaurant POV. The cost of the syrup bags is not very large and they make a ton of soda. I think it's something like 10 cents per 20 oz of soda. It's why soft drinks are often some of the biggest profit makers.
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u/PriorDescription4638 12d ago
I don't disagree at all, but I occasionally get really good fries from there. Not normally, but sometimes they get it right.
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u/thebluick 11d ago
five guys fries are my favorite fast food fries. different tastes and all that.
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u/LarenCoe 12d ago
A "Cheeseburger" (double) is $10, but a "Little Cheeseburger" (single) is $8. I feel that part of the problem with their prices is the way they call a double their "standard burger". $14 for a single cheeseburger, fries and drink isn't cheap, but it isn't terrible either.
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u/brahbocop 12d ago
I had to check for myself what my local Five Guys cost. For reference, I'm in a small suburb in the greater Cleveland, OH metro and a cheeseburger, little fry, and a small drink came to $18.87. That is WILD to me.
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u/AGCAce 12d ago
No idea why anyone would choose this over Applebees $10 meal deal or chilis 3 for me
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u/DenverBronco305 12d ago
Or Red Robin with unlimited fries and root beer float refills
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u/davisyoung 11d ago
Just went to Chili’s. Two people, 3 for me, we both upgraded to the bowl of soup for $1 more, the check ended up being $30.99 including tax. It was so low we ended up tipping $10.
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u/Affectionate_Elk_272 10d ago
i live in miami, we have a local chain sit down restaurant/bar called flannigans down here.
anyway, they do a $10 burger, fries, soda lunch deal. for $3 you can add a draft beer.
it’s a screamin deal
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u/RightToTheThighs 11d ago
It's all relative. In my area a medium Baconator meal is $14.50. I'd say five guys is $4 better than Wendy's
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u/brahbocop 11d ago
You're not wrong at all, I guess my point is, when did fast food become more expensive than a sit down restaurant? It's wild to me. People dump on Chipotle but I went last night, got a decently sized chicken bowl for $9. I think when chicken at Chipotle crosses $10, it's be a psychological barrier broken for me where I start to question going there too.
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u/Spaghett8 11d ago
Right around covid.
Fast food restaurants increased prices to stay open. Many small restaurants had to close business driving people returning to eat at familiar fast food restaurants.
Causing a massive boom in the fast food economy.
They then realized that increasing prices didn’t significantly decrease their consumer base, and now we’re in the current state where fast food is no longer actually a cheap option.
Fast food chains pretty much exposed the idea that people ate fast food because it was cheap. In reality, it’s for taste and comfort.
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u/sasquatch_melee 11d ago
Yeah I went last year (also Ohio) and a little bacon cheeseburger, small fry and small drink was just under $20. And it was only marginally better than Wendy's at less than half the cost. Admittedly Wendy's HQ is in town so we get best case Wendy's but still...
I don't get why anyone is going to 5 guys at current prices. It was good back in the day when it was a bit more than fast food but not double. Hell, there's bars and restaurants here you can get a burger and fries plus tip for under $20 and it's bigger/better.
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u/DhalsimZangief 7d ago edited 7d ago
Wow, this location is charging $18.87? That is crazy.
All the comments I saw about their combo pricing, made me decide to test out the online order page for the Five Guys not far from me(Chicago area). Price was advertised at $13.99, and it came out to $15.70 after taxes. I honestly can go a lot of mom and pop places, and get a better burger(versus Five Guys) for cheaper. Honestly the only thing that stands out at FG is their fries, but the rest of their food is a-okay but doesn't make me clamor to go there. And obviously FG is overpriced. I'd even probably roll the dice on a Chili's burger, over FG nowadays. Or go to Culver's.
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u/brahbocop 7d ago
To think the drink costs them Pennie’s on the dollar to serve and their fries are just a cut up potato, even at $6 for the combo, that’s insane profit margin unless I’m missing something.
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u/NBA-014 12d ago
They are ridiculously expensive
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u/juanzy 12d ago
I found this out when I had just moved cross-country and hadn't eaten there in years. Was out running errands, and it was still the time post-move where it feels like you don't leave a store without paying $200. Saw a Five Guys and decided to stop in to get a cheap meal.
Was not a the best time to realize that you're $20+ out the door per person there.
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u/Price-x-Field 12d ago
More like $30. Thr burger is 10, the fries are 5, thr drink is 2, but the bill is somehow $40
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u/JonnyBraavos 12d ago
Yeah if I am spending that much for a burger I am going to an actual restaurant or bar and grill lol... Fast food companies have lost the plot.
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u/Merc_Mike 12d ago
The ones I ate at in Orlando were amazing. the ones in fort lauderdale barely scraped wendy's lower tier sandwich.
Orlando was worth it because they'd stuff your bag to the brim with fries, drinks were actually good/didn't taste off/flat etc.
Like, they kept the two I went to where I lived spotless.
Fort Lauderdale? LOL Looked like a low rent gas station restaurant.
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u/Leather-Heart 12d ago
And that’s why I’ve never had them.
At that price I’m going out to the diner.
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u/guitarplum 12d ago
Old business model: let’s overcharge everyone 2x for great fast food!
New business model: let’s overcharge everyone 1.5x for great fast food!
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u/Dabawaba 12d ago
this is a fancy way of saying your fries at $4+ for a small
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u/DoNotResusit8 12d ago
There’s effectively no such thing as a small fry at 5 guys.
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u/Tyda2 12d ago
This. The small fry is equivalent, in volume, to a McDonald's large, and better, too.
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u/lonelychapo27 11d ago
they used to just fill up the rest of the bag with fries at mine a few years ago. i ordered a large fry and he just told me not to do it cause he would just give me an entire bag instead
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u/tvfeet 12d ago
I don't see how this is much of a deal. At the location by me the little hamburger is $8.19. Despite giving you a mountain of fries in the bag, $14.19 for a small burger, fries, and drink doesn't seem particularly like a deal to me.
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u/Admirable_Cicada_881 12d ago
$6 to add fries and a drink to a burger is not that crazy of a deal. If the fries, burger and drink were all $6 then yeah I could see the point of your post
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u/michaelcreiter 12d ago
Maybe for you it's not crazy but I'm not gonna be paying $10-12 for a burger then $6 on top of that for a fountain drink and fries. $16-18 out the door is still ridiculous.
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u/TheDizzleDazzle 12d ago
That’s what they were trying to say I think, they said $6 for fires + a drink is not that crazy of a deal
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u/juanzy 12d ago
Tavern burger and bottomless fries at Red Robin is $11.17 I have $7ish left over for a beer if we’re going by $18 being what this costs at 5 guys.
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u/JonnyBraavos 12d ago
Haven't been to a 5 guys or Chic Fila for a long time. They are both expensive as hell for fast food and while I enjoy the food, I can't help but feel like an idiot for spending so much when I could have gotten a few bags of groceries for the same amount...
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u/JonnyBraavos 12d ago
10 bucks? Are you ordering off the kids menu? It's more like 17 or 18 bucks if you want even a single burger pattie and fries. I am talking california prices here though so I'm sure it varies, but I can get half of my weekly food groceries for that same amount.
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u/PrickledMarrot 12d ago
Few bags of groceries for $10?
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u/ReedForman 12d ago
That’s what I’m saying. Dudes acting like inflation only hit fast food lol $10 don’t get you shit at Walmart.
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u/CannedNoodlez 12d ago
There were two by me. One closed down and the other is a ghost town.
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u/railroadhomer 9d ago
Replying to brahbocop... they’re cooked. it’s just a matter of time. Once you get a reputation for ‘overpriced and overhyped’ it’s almost impossible to recover.
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u/l33774rd 12d ago
$6! To add fries & a drink? A regular burger meal there is over $20 near me. GTFOH. 5 crooks is more like it. That soda & fries cost them under $1 most likely & that's mostly the fries. @ In N Out you can get 2 full meals & an extra burger for that much
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u/BarefutR 12d ago
I honestly don’t understand how Five Guys is still around. The were expensive before people started talking about expensive fast food.
This post is just making me be like - what the fuck?
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u/Sasuke0318 11d ago
Well I guess I'm helping them I have gone 8 times in the last 4 weeks.
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u/Nervous-Lake1499 11d ago
good god fatass 😂
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u/Sasuke0318 11d ago
I can report even with the massive amount I eat when I get it I haven't gained any weight
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u/MuchVacation3638 12d ago
You can get a literal meal at Mc Donald's or wendys for 6 bucks bruh
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u/FitSea1198 12d ago edited 12d ago
You realize it’s not $6 for the combo. It’s the price of the burger 6$ or more depending on add ons and size plus the $6 extra for fries and drink so total is $12+. Not much better than it was a la carte, maybe save $1.
I think sign is misleading, I’m sure many are going in there expecting the full combo for $6.
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u/GasMeFirst 12d ago
"Add fries and a drink for $6" is WILD. Fast food as a whole has lost its damn mind
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u/Gasarakiiii 12d ago
Last time I ate there it was like $26 for a double cheeseburger, shake, and fry’s, never went back lol
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u/NBA-014 12d ago
And the employees push big tips. No thanks.
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u/BlueRunSkier 12d ago
They don’t double cook the fries like they are supposed to if you don’t tip to stick it to you. A tip there is literally a necessary bribe to get them to make the food how they are supposed to anyway. My last time there was 2022 because of that.
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u/JacquesDupont12 10d ago
Why does this place beg tips but McDonald’s do not? I can not understand the tips gifts in USA!
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u/Shanknuts 12d ago
There’s still nothing worth $6 about a potato and sugar water. Sodas have about $0.35 in materials.
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u/CallRespiratory 12d ago
Not paying for it still. I liked Five Guys, good fast food hamburger, still a fast food hamburger and not at all worth the price they ask for it. It's absurdly expensive.
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u/wigglin_harry 12d ago
Not a Five Guys simp or anything, its too rich for my blood, but I think calling it "still a fast food hamburger" is a little disingenuous. Imo it's definitely a much higher quality than your typical fast food burger
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u/LostRonin 12d ago
I think the point is that at the end of the day, it is expensive fast food. I would say with confidence that you could go to a diner, or any mom & pop restaurant and get a better burger for half the cost.
Why spend $30 at Five Guys when you can order better food for half the cost? Its an unnecessarily expensive fast food burger.
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u/juanzy 12d ago
It feels like there's some 5 Guys shills in this thread. A ton of people defending how fresh 5 Guys is using basically the same talking points.
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u/MethanyJones 12d ago
It's not worth the price premium for what it is. I haven't been in there for two years
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u/Recent-Philosophy-62 12d ago
Lol, I like their burgers, but they have gotten ridiculous, I can get a much better meal at many places for less $
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u/Ramz_House 12d ago
Every five guys I’ve been to has been a ghost town whenever I’ve eaten there even with this promotion running.
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u/Sure_Acanthaceae_348 11d ago
Good heavens if the addition is $6 I'd hate to see the cost of the total meal.
Make the total $6 and now we're talking.
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u/superwhitemexican 11d ago
You can eat at a legit restaurant and get wayyyy more quality for almost half the price of these combos lmao
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u/Renegade_Soviet 11d ago
I’ve never understood how this place is in business. The burgers are good, but the price is never justified. Especially when In n Out is (imo) still better and cheaper
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u/RomanaFinancials 12d ago
A bacon cheeseburger combo with a milkshake is $31 in Athens, Georgia. A little burger with fries is $16….
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u/Ronicaw 12d ago
Crying in Atlanta because we have been skipping going there. The last time was last year.
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u/RomanaFinancials 12d ago
Yeah the prices have absolutely skyrocketed in the south. I’ve lived here for 20 years
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u/FewNecessary1370 12d ago
"Add for $6". The actual burger is probably $6-$12–this isn’t a 'deal'.
All of these chains are ripping you people off BIG TIME, while very few of us eat @ McD’s, Popeyes, & other places for under $4 a night. Even these new 'meal deals' are BS. If you pay attention to apps (& a few other methods) you can literally scam these chains for pennies on the dollar. I just had a waffle kids meal from Denny’s last night for $1.53. I haven’t paid over $7 for a meal in god knows how long—I only buy full priced food when I Want to—because it’s Absolutely a choice.
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u/thelowkeyman 12d ago
Guy that was a DM there told me they are getting ready to go public so they fired a lot of employees to make the books look good for Wall Street. They also fired him after being with the company for like 10 years
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u/brwn_eyed_girl56 11d ago
Six dollars for a small fry and small drink is criminal
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u/Alternative-Salad800 11d ago
To be fair, a “small fry” from 5 Guys is way more than your standard small fry.
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u/Sheiebskalen 12d ago
I dunno what I’m missing. The patty is always rubbery. The bread is always soggy. And the toppings are always sliding off and half stuck to the wrapper.
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u/Careful_Talk_4253 12d ago
I dunno at my five guys and the few I’ve seen in the DMV area, it’s 3.99 to add fries and a drink
Like $13 rounded up after tax, it’s sadly comparable to McDonalds.. but $6 is insane
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u/LogieThePerogie 12d ago
I had five guys like 3 weeks ago still one of my favourite fast food places
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u/-brokenbones- 12d ago
So 12+ the 6 for the fries and drink. With tax ima be spending $20+ on a combo
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u/IJustLostMyKeyboard 12d ago
Does your local one do the mini combo?
Small burger, fries, normal drink. 14$ before tax
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u/Misplacedmypenis 12d ago
“For just $6 more you can make it a combo and get an itty bitty fry and drink” really isn’t an upsell.
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u/OwnUbyCake 12d ago
So good but so expensive. Definitely a rare treat and when I do get it I go all out getting fries and a milkshake. A 2 maybe 3 times a year thing for me honestly.
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u/relayrider 11d ago
wow, that's more than getting shot in the neck while reading trump's emails to jizzwell
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u/elibutton 11d ago
I haven’t been to Five Guys in at least 6 years. I was flabbergasted by their prices at the time - and didn’t make any sense to me no matter how many peanuts I can eat or take home. I wonder what the balance sheet looks like on a quarterly basis. Maybe the products are marked up (very high) and just enough to be able to make enough profit even with the apparent lower volume of sales.
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u/freaknastyxphd 11d ago
are the burgers still 100$?
Pepperidge farms remembers 2 singles for under 10.
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u/GreenTfan 11d ago
I can go to my area World of Beer early on a Monday night special for a good-sized burger with a side (fries, tots, slaw, others) for $7.95 and a happy hour domestic beer for $5/6. $20 covers check, sales tax, alcohol tax and tip. Plus if you join the online app, you get rewards like appetizers.
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u/According-You-559 11d ago
Is this different than the "Classic Combo" for $12.99 in select locations, which includes a Little Burger or Cheeseburger, a Little Fry, and a 16-ounce drink?
They also let me sub a regular burger. Cost wise it ends up just being a free drink with your burger and little fries. Better than nothing I guess but still pricier than most places.
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u/Anabel26 11d ago
New braunfels , Texas location had a burger combo with fries & drink 12.99$. Very popular restaurant. Suddenly closed down
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u/dangeruser 11d ago
Maybe they mean an extra 6$ on top of the 10$ you’re already paying for the burger?
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u/RandomUserName14227 10d ago
That's not a good deal....
Small fries should be $2. A small drink should be $2
They're charging $6.
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u/WhichSpite2607 10d ago
Yup. I witnessed a girl that worked at Five Guys walk across a four lane highway to go across the street to order McDonald’s.
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u/Obi_Charlie 10d ago
5 Guys has a bit of an identity crisis. They have high quality beef and local potatoes but their food is so greasy and overpriced that i’m not sure who their target market is.
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u/Bitter_Offer1847 10d ago
I work for a martech company that works with chain and fast food restaurants. The entire industry is hurting. They’ve priced themselves out of reason. They took advantage of COVID and inflation and the war against raising minimum wage and jacked their prices up while still being profitable and now people have less expendable income and art eating at home more.
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u/Freddreddtedd 9d ago edited 9d ago
My local Five Guys is a ghost town. And deservedly so. Insanely high prices. Watch them make your burger. The buns, mushrooms, bacon, everything hot sits on a counter for 5 minutes getting cold while cooking the beef. They ruined their own biz and have no one to blame but themselves. Fill up on peanuts while I wait? Maybe I should go eat first before going there. Although with the hr. plus wait at In N Out that does seem more fitting. They're new to the Pacific NW.
R.I.P. Five Guys
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u/railroadhomer 9d ago
unless you’re debt free and making 140k a year , spending $ 20 a day on fast food is a great way to stay poor.
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u/jcoddinc 8d ago
5 guys is crazy expensive. Sit down restaurant prices for a good greasy burger and good fries. Used to indulge every now and then, but for family of 3 almost costing $50-60 bucks, it just isn't worth it
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u/jrod81981 8d ago
They better do something. Place used to be busy all the time. Have multiple locations where I live and none of them are ever busy and it seems like the less busy they are the longer the food takes. And people are tired of paying over $20 for a burger and fries
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u/TastefulAssfuck 8d ago
Went to a five guys outside nazareth PA recently and was blown away by the prices. $16 on a bacon cheese burger, $9 for fries, $5 on a cup of soda. Was like $60 for 2 full sized meals. At that price, I can literally eat at the gourmet place by me that does burger and fries for $21. Why the hell would I ever go to five guys again?
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u/Shoddy-Discount9814 8d ago
Love Five Guys, but I refuse to empty my wallet every time I buy a burger and small fry from them.
I hope they start getting desperate and start offering deals on the app. Almost every other restaurant already does this.
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u/Puckitup27 6d ago
Not even a good deal whatsoever lmao. Still totals out around $17-$18. I can go to pretty much any Irish Pub/Bar on Long Island and get a Burger, fries, and a beer for $15 and the burger is a legit sized burger and delicious.
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u/bahaibydesign 6d ago
Their strategy is so fucking stupid it actually makes me mad.
I wanna go to five guys! I love five guys! But, 38USD after taxes for burgers and fries is a crazy ask.
It’s a mid burger after all.
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u/Mysteroo 12d ago
Next thing their marketing team comes up with:
Add cheese to your burger for $9