Five Guys gives sneak peek ahead of Gangnam store open

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Five Guys gives sneak peek ahead of Gangnam store open

Published: 22 Jun. 2023, 17:50

Five Guys' custom-made burger, fries and drink [FG KOREA]

Five Guys’ first store in Korea is opening in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Monday, and aims to fill the growing consumer appetite for high-end burgers.

FG Korea, a subsidiary of Hanwha Galleria that will operate the U.S. burger chain in Korea, showcased Five Guys’ signature beef burgers at a media day event held at its two-story Gangnam branch Thursday.

“We are finally global, making it here after two years of close coordination with the Hanwha team,” said Iain Ross-Mackenzie, the vice president of operations at Five Guys International.

Korea is seventh in the Asia-Pacific region to operate the brand after Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Malaysia, Australia, and Macau.

Originality and quality are two aspects that Five Guys is keen on maintaining, according to Ross-Mackenzie. Its food is made under equal conditions and standards to offer an “American taste” to consumers, wherever they are in the world.

“Five Guys prohibits chains from inventing local specialty menus and seasonal menus [to that end], and the U.S. head office is very adamant about this,” FG Korea CEO Oh Min-woo told reporters.

Five Guys allows up to 250,000 customized menus, including bunless or pattyless ones. [SOHN DONG-JOO]

The Five Guys menu allows for up to 250,000 menu customizations with 15 different toppings — as well as bunless or pattyless burgers. Oh claimed that he had different variations every day of his seven-week training course in the United States.

The trademark fries receive extra attention, dubbed “calibration,” twice a day, which involves employees hand-checking fries with a “mush test” to ensure that the potatoes are mashed on the inside and firm on the outside.

“It took two years to open the first store; one and a half years of that were spent on finding the ‘perfect’ potatoes,” said Kim Dong-seon, business strategy head at Hanwha Galleria.

Quality-mad features such as these are what differentiates Five Guys from other burger joints in Korea, according to Kim, who went on to argue that Five Guys faces no competition in the local burger market.

Fries served Thursday were made from potatoes harvested in Boseong County, South Jeolla. FG Korea plans to source other local farms that meet their standards to secure a stable indigenous supply chain.

Five Guys' fries are being ″calibrated″ to ensure constant quality. From the left are overcooked, ″perfect″ and undercooked fries. [SOHN DONG-JOO]

“It’s not a stretch to say countries that were unable to host Five Guys are ones that failed to source the right potatoes,” FG Korea’s chief stressed.

The menu in Korea will cost 13 percent less than that of the United States and 17 percent lower than Hong Kong’s, Oh said when asked about the price.

“This is still around 10 to 15 percent higher than local burgers, but the size, weight, and quality of the products are all worth the cost.”

The cost of eating out in Korea has been rising for 30 consecutive months, according to Statistics Korea. May’s price rose 6.9 percent on year.

The flagship branch is located on a boulevard between Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station, one of Korea’s largest shopping meccas. FG Korea aims to open up to 15 stores in Seoul within five years.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]