This week Tim visits Five Guys Burgers and Fries, located in The Oaks shopping center on the corner of Thompson Lane and Medical Center Parkway, and sits down with Five Guys Murfreesboro's General Manager Steven Coleman to find out what gives the famous Five Guys burgers their signature fresh taste and why they insist on cooking their fries in peanut oil, as well as what the Five Guys in Murfreesboro is offering as this week's Taste of the Town discount.
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Transcript
TIM: Tim Dutton here with another edition of Taste of the Town. Today, we’re at Five Guys Burgers and Fries where the hamburgers are the boss. And I’m sitting here with Steven Coleman who’s the general manager of Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Thanks for having us Steven.
STEVEN: Great to have you here.
TIM: Man, tell us a little bit about what you guys do that’s different than everybody else that’s in the burger business.
STEVEN: What we do here at Five Guys Burgers and Fries is fresh—fresh burgers, fresh potatoes, fresh French fries. We don’t have a microwave. We don’t have a freezer. Everything is made fresh to order. No fillers, no preservatives. It’s the real deal.
TIM: You had made the comment and that stuck we me. Guys, there’s not a freezer on the premises. Right?
STEVEN: No.
TIM: So it’s all fresh. Now you also cook your fries in peanut oil?
STEVEN: Yes sir, we do.
TIM: And what does that do?
STEVEN: It gives it a bit of flavor. Peanut oil can cook at a higher temperature than regular oils and doesn’t deteriorate as quickly. So you can cook it at a higher temperature and it gives it a better flavor.
TIM: Okay.
STEVEN: That’s what we’re looking for.
TIM: All right. Steven, tell me a little bit about the sack deal here. What have you brought us today?
STEVEN: Well, inside here, what people like to do is just take this sack, tear it open, because we don’t have trays here or anything. This is your tray. On the inside here, you’ve got one of our famous Five Guys burgers all the way and our Cajun French fries.
TIM: I’ll tell you what. That’s a whole role of potatoes right there.
STEVEN: Oh, yes sir. These potatoes that we have here at the restaurant, they’re on display out in the lobby. They are not for decoration. Well, they are to an extent, but it is mainly to show people that this is what we do.
TIM: You guys get them out of the sack, cut them up…?
STEVEN: Yes sir. Every day.
TIM: And guys, look a there. What a burger. Steven, what’s this particular burger you fixed for us today?
STEVEN: This is our bacon cheeseburger, and the toppings on here are what we call “all the way.” That’s mayonnaise, lettuce, pickle, tomato, mustard, ketchup, grilled onions, and grilled mushrooms.
TIM: And the way I understand it now, is this right? That all your items you can choose whichever ones and your burger’s the same price no matter how you slice it.
STEVEN: Exactly. All the toppings are free.
TIM: Well, guys I’m going to taste a little bit of this. Go ahead and twist my arm. I want you guys to look at that burger right there. Steven, you’ve outdone yourself.
STEVEN: We try to make sure it’s the same way every time.
TIM: Guys, this is one juicy and tasty burger. Now Steven, tell me a little bit about the potatoes that you guys use to make your fries.
STEVEN: Now all of our potatoes we get in fresh every week. They’re all grown in either Idaho, Washington, or Oregon. They all have to be grown north of the 42nd parallel. What that means is the potatoes grow slower. It’s a firmer potato and it produces a better fry.
TIM: You guys are specific about what you choose to use.
STEVEN: Yes, sir. Every week we get a list of where the potatoes we get are grown, the name of the farm, and the city they’re from. And we display that here in the restaurant.
TIM: So you actually display the name of the farm that the potatoes were grown on?
STEVEN: Yes sir.
TIM: Now, you had told me something else about your hamburgers. They’re all-American beef.
STEVEN: All-American beef. The percentage is 80/20 and the reason being is that we cook all of our patties well done. Now if you want a well done juicy burger, you have to have a certain fat percentage in there.
TIM: Right.
STEVEN: And because of that, that’s the reason why we use that.
TIM: That’s something that a lot of people don’t know is that the beef that they get at different places, it can be Mexican beef. It can be Canadian beef.
STEVEN: Yes sir.
TIM: It’s not necessarily American-grown beef.
STEVEN: Exactly.
TIM: But what you guys use here is.
STEVEN: Yes sir.
TIM: Now, Steven, do you have a special for the people that come in and say they saw it on Taste of the Town?
STEVEN: For any of our guests that come in that have seen us on Taste of the Town, we’re going to offer a free drink. All they have to say is that they saw it on Taste of the Town, and they’ll get a free drink with their meal.
TIM: Hear that, guys? Come on in here to Five Guys Burgers and Fries and get you a fresh, tasty hamburger. Now Steven, do you want to tell the folks where you guys are located?
STEVEN: Okay, we are at 536 North Thompson Lane here in Murfreesboro, located in The Oaks Shopping Center. We’ve also got two other locations here locally. We have one in Smyrna and one in Mt. Juliet.
TIM: Okay. Now the fries, they’ve got a little bit different of a taste. Kind of a spicy…
STEVEN: This is our Cajun fries. We offer two different styles of fries here. We offer Five Guys style, which is just salt, and then we also offer the Cajun seasoning. Cajun seasoning is a little spicy, but it’s not what I would call hot. People like a little spiciness to their fries.
TIM: Well, dude, they are good. What about the hours? Do you guys close any days of the week? What kind of hours are you open?
STEVEN: No, we’re open every day of the week. We’re open from 11:00 in the morning and close at 10:00 at night. Generally, we try to be open at least half an hour before. And then we’ll close at 10. So generally, we’re ready to go by 10:30 in the morning.
TIM: Good, good. Well, guys, that’s about it for this edition of Taste of the Town. And remember, if you’re thinking about fresh hamburgers, think Five Guys Burgers and Fries, and if you’re thinking real estate, think Tim Dutton.