Last modified: 10/14/2013 2:27:04 PM
Five Guys is coming to Concord.
The burger restaurant will open in Fort Eddy Plaza early next year. Franchise owner Cort Mendez said it will be the restaurant’s ninth location in New Hampshire.
“Concord has always been a market that I wanted to be in,” Mendez said. “It’s so well-populated. People ask me all the time, you know, ‘Are you going to open in Concord?’ ”
Mendez said he hopes to open in late January or early February. He will move the restaurant into Fort Eddy Plaza, in the storefront previously occupied by Hallmark. He will go before the Concord Planning Board this week for exterior sign approval, and hopes to begin renovations in November or December.
Mendez owns all of the Five Guys locations in New Hampshire. He opened the first one in Nashua in 2009 – today is the fourth anniversary of its opening. He now has a second Nashua restaurant, as well as locations in Manchester, Keene, Derry, Dover and West Lebanon. The newest store, in Portsmouth, is set to open within two weeks, Mendez said.
The restaurants are doing well enough that Mendez said he continues to plan new Five Guys locations.
“It’s always nice to be busier, I’ll be first to say that,” Mendez said. “But at the same time, it’s going well enough that it allows me to continue to expand. So, you know, assuming that it continues on that path, then I will do my best to keep expanding.”
Five Guys, known for its burgers and hand-cut fries, has more than 1,000 franchise locations in 47 states and Washington, D.C.
“What makes Five Guys a little unique in the marketplace is that everything is cooked to order,” Mendez said. “Everything is served fresh. In other words, there isn’t even a freezer on premises. All the fries are hand-cut every day. We use very high-quality ingredients. No additives, no preservatives. And you know, it’s kind of what really sets us apart.”
(Laura McCrystal can be reached at 369-3312 or lmccrystal@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @lmccrystal.)