Five Guys vent

[puffkin]

I am not a fan of 5 Guys (I think their food is gross and extremely overpriced) but I don't have a problem with them serving peanuts. I do have a problem if they do not have a sign posted on the door warning patrons of the peanuts inside or the fact they cook in peanut oil.

All the 5 Guys around here have the signs. I don't think it would be a good business move for them to remove the peanuts for a very small percentage of the population. It is all part of the experience.

 

[surfergirl602]

We went to Longhorn Steakhouse and inside there were peanuts and shells everywhere. All over the floor, the tables, everywhere. You just throw the shells wherever you want. We don't have any allergies, but I'm always aware of that stuff because I used to work with children that did have them, and its habit now. There wasn't a sign anywhere stating that they had peanuts in the building. I even double checked because I was baffled by it!

 

[chisnpeke]

They are not going to remove peanuts from their restaurants when such a small percentage of the population has a peanut allergy. Obviously people like the peanuts.

Texas Roadhouse has peanuts EVERYWHERE. The shells are on the floor.

Frankly I think it is ridiculous to expect restaurants to cater to allergies that only small amounts of people have.

 

[A4Disney]

I think the number of people without peanut allergies far outweighs the number of people with them. Haven't been to Five Guys but our local Texas Roadhouse has barrels of peanuts while you wait, on tables, shells on the floor, and the place is always packed.

Agree that it'd be frustrating to walk in there and not know about the peanuts though. They ought to put a sign on the door to let customers know ahead of time.

At the one here they do have big signs on the door/windows about the peanuts and allergies.

 

[allison443]

I just had to get this off my chest. My oldest was visiting over spring break and the other night she wanted to eat at Five Guys. So I loaded up 3 kiddos and headed over there. We all went in to order.

Then I had to RUSH out of there. Apparently part of the ambience of this fast food place is whole peanuts in large boxes that people can take and eat. My youngest has a peanut allergy (thankfully has to ingest it, not just have it flying around). I had to quickly remove him to wait in the carseat, then get the rest of the order to go and get out of there.

Which leaves me to ask: what are they thinking? I'm not some peanut nazi, but I'm certainly more sensitive now that I have a child with an allergy (he has an epi pen just in case). With all the people out there with peanut allergies, plus their families, it seems to me that they are severely restricting the number of potential customers. I know we won't be headed back.

Vent over. Other to say: they are not as good as In and Out, even though they try to fashion themselves after it.

Thanks. Feeling better now.

Were there signs? We don't have a peanut allergy in our family, but I have been to three different Five Guys and all had signs on the door warning about the peanuts, also signs inside asking people not to take the peanuts outside, and signs mentioning the peanut oil.

Your oldest child that asked to go there-didn't she mention about the huge boxes of peanuts knowing her sibling has a serious peanut allergy?

Glad you were able to avoid your child having a serious reaction. That must be so scary.

 

[SiAmCrAzY]

one last thing, you do know that their french fries are cooked in peanut oil, right ?

I was wondering about that as well. Allot of people prefer the taste of peanut oil. With a little one with allergies it must be very scary. If you wanted to be more pro active I am sure there is a website for people peanut allergy that has a no go list of restaurants (if not there should be). I know that Jimmy Johns potato chips are made with peanut oil (that is why they are so yummy! But definitely not for your DS). The five guys here has signs as well.
Sorry about your experience, hope it doesn't happen again.

 

[charming23]

Both Five Guys near us have signs on their doors warning people with peanut allergies of the open containers of peanuts.

I enjoy Five Guys and have never had a bad experience with cold food or anything else.

 

[Kim&Chris]

At our store, there are signs all over the doors warning about the peanuts before you ever walk inside.

At ours as well.

 

[Piecey]

Another person who isn't wild about it.

The closest one to us is in Columbus (hours from here) and I have a friend who gets a craving and goes specifically for it. Luckily, the one she goes to is in Easton in a food court like setting so there are lots of other options of places for me to eat when I join her!

I don't remember it having peanuts but I might not have been paying attention.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

I love them!! I haven't ever gotten anything cold, and the one time they messed up my order just a little bit (which I took to go), they bought myself and DH our entire meal the next time we came in, even though I tried to insist they didn't have to.

At our store, there are signs all over the doors warning about the peanuts before you ever walk inside. There are also signs inside the store asking that nobody brings any peanuts outside of the store, to avoid the possibility of bringing them in contact with someone that has an allergy. I think they're being quite responsible about it.

BTW, don't go to Texas Roadhouse. They also have peanuts all over the place.

ITA! There are two signs at average adult eyesight height that are up on the front door stating the place has peanuts. Not only that, the fries are cooked in peanut oil. It's a pro-peanut place, sorry. People like peanuts.

 

[dis-happy]

Honestly, if there were signs on the door I did not see them. I was balancing a toddler in one arm, purse in the other, and trying to open the door for another child. Plus, it was dark and rainy out and with the lights on inside any sign was probably backlit. The only sign I noticed on my way out (the second time) about not removing peanuts was on the peanut box itself (located near the door).

As I stated before, I'm not a peanut nazi and understand that any eating place can serve what they want. However, it surprises me from a business standpoint that a fast-food chain restaurant would have peanuts due to the number of people who have that allergy (very often children) and that it limits their customer base when you add in the rest of the family members or even co-workers as the case may be. (We used to have a Longhorn Steakhouse with peanuts on the tables but it went out of business...but that clientele is different than fast-food). Plus, I've never seen a Five Guys with a drive-thru option to alleviate the problem of going inside.

They've been building these franchises as fast as they can around here and the ones that I drive by and can see inside always seem mostly empty. Shades of Krispy Kreme....pretty sure there will be a market correction at some point. Again, it seems strange to me from a business perspective; maybe they should try a peanut-free profile at select locations and see if it draws in those who otherwise would have to skip going to Five Guys. Just a thought!

 

[Jazzybell]

Our Five Guys has signs warning about peanuts all over the restaurant, too. DH and I enjoy going there... the food is fresh, hot, and tasty. I guess it is like any other chain restaurant... your experience depends on which location you are visiting.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

I like the burgers themselves. I get the lil' burgers because I certainly don't need a hamburger with two patties, yuck! But I really think they need to be eaten fresh as they can get soggy very fast.

I get my traditional lil' bacon cheeseburger with grilled onions, 2x lettuce and A1 steak sauce with tomato on the side. Yummy. I also like the ice cubes for the soda. But I really do not like the fries. Usually, I go and order while DFiance runs over to BK to get some fries and we eat in the car. It's much more peaceful too, our Five Guys is always VERY busy.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Honestly, if there were signs on the door I did not see them. I was balancing a toddler in one arm, purse in the other, and trying to open the door for another child. Plus, it was dark and rainy out and with the lights on inside any sign was probably backlit. The only sign I noticed on my way out (the second time) about not removing peanuts was on the peanut box itself (located near the door).

As I stated before, I'm not a peanut nazi and understand that any eating place can serve what they want. However, it surprises me from a business standpoint that a fast-food chain restaurant would have peanuts due to the number of people who have that allergy (very often children) and that it limits their customer base when you add in the rest of the family members or even co-workers as the case may be. (We used to have a Longhorn Steakhouse with peanuts on the tables but it went out of business...but that clientele is different than fast-food). Plus, I've never seen a Five Guys with a drive-thru option to alleviate the problem of going inside.

They've been building these franchises as fast as they can around here and the ones that I drive by and can see inside always seem mostly empty. Shades of Krispy Kreme....pretty sure there will be a market correction at some point. Again, it seems strange to me from a business perspective; maybe they should try a peanut-free profile at select locations and see if it draws in those who otherwise would have to skip going to Five Guys. Just a thought!

I understand your concern but the few Five Guys I've ever seen are always PACKED. Plus, people really like peanuts. Fuddruckers and Five Guys are the only places around here that have peanuts for the taking and both places are always very, very busy. If they take away peanuts, a) it would be silly because their fries are cooked in peanut oil anyway, b) they'd turn away more people than they'd gain.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

Well, I guess you could look at it from this perspective. Would you expect places to stop serving seafood because people might be allergic to it and not come there? I realize they don't have seafood sitting around in open boxes like with the peanuts, but a piece of seafood could easily fall to the ground and not be picked up, right? Now it's laying there, for any little kid with a seafood allergy to find... you can't expect restaurants to stop serving seafood because some of their *potential* customers are allergic.

 

[robinb]

Again, it seems strange to me from a business perspective; maybe they should try a peanut-free profile at select locations and see if it draws in those who otherwise would have to skip going to Five Guys. Just a thought!

Me, I'm waiting for a Hooters to open up a restaurant with scantily clad men. I was hoping that was going to one of the changes made on that Undercover Boss program .... but no! I was so disappointed .

 

[RadioNate]

Every 5 Guys I have been to has a zillion peanut signs all over the place. I've gone to ones in several different states with my parents/inlaws and they all have signs. I can't imagine that the signs aren't standard.

The local one we go to even had a sign on a stand out side of the place (like a sandwich board) at the main door. All the other entrances have signs at eye level.

I would assume that if the peanuts were hurting their business they would get rid of them. Obviously, since they haven't they probably aren't hurting them at all.

ETA - all the ones around here are always packed too. The one by my mom's in Chicago is and so is the one by my inlaws in Oregon.

 

[Wonderlandmom]

Our Five guys has lots of signs everywhere. The food is good, hot, and fresh. A little overpriced though. The peanuts are a good plus for us. The place is always busy! Our Logan's has the peanuts too. People with peanut allergies know not to go there, just like those with seafood allergies don't go to seafood restaurants.

Sorry about your little one, hope he did not eat the fries. And I hope he outgrows the allergy! I know someone that did.

 

[mhsjax]

Honestly, if there were signs on the door I did not see them. I was balancing a toddler in one arm, purse in the other, and trying to open the door for another child. Plus, it was dark and rainy out and with the lights on inside any sign was probably backlit. The only sign I noticed on my way out (the second time) about not removing peanuts was on the peanut box itself (located near the door).

As I stated before, I'm not a peanut nazi and understand that any eating place can serve what they want. However, it surprises me from a business standpoint that a fast-food chain restaurant would have peanuts due to the number of people who have that allergy (very often children) and that it limits their customer base when you add in the rest of the family members or even co-workers as the case may be. (We used to have a Longhorn Steakhouse with peanuts on the tables but it went out of business...but that clientele is different than fast-food). Plus, I've never seen a Five Guys with a drive-thru option to alleviate the problem of going inside.

They've been building these franchises as fast as they can around here and the ones that I drive by and can see inside always seem mostly empty. Shades of Krispy Kreme....pretty sure there will be a market correction at some point. Again, it seems strange to me from a business perspective; maybe they should try a peanut-free profile at select locations and see if it draws in those who otherwise would have to skip going to Five Guys. Just a thought!

Yes they are building them very fast, but I think because they are so popular. WE have 2 and they are always very busy, so I don't see them closing as a problem. I don't think a peanut free profile would work, that isn't their thing. They use peanut oil to fry the french fries also. It would be like asking Burger King to fry their burgers instead of flame broil. Now Bk is one place that as far as I am concerned could close down and never reopen.

 

[Familyof4lovesDW]

We just had a new one open by us and there are signs everywhere! On the door at the counter on the place where the peanuts are themselves. It was okay. They do not have a kids meal so it cost too much for us to go there so we do not. We can go to a steakhouse for almost the same price. If I want a burger I will make one at home and it does not cost a fourtune. I also saw the sign about not removing the peanuts. I am glad your child was not affected. As mentioned, Logans and Texas Roadhouse both have peanuts also.