5 Guys presents complimentary peanuts to clients as a gesture of hospitality, however the snack sends a really totally different message to a part of the inhabitants. For individuals with peanut allergic reactions, each 5 Guys location within the U.S. is a well being hazard; the burger chain even posts indicators in its home windows saying as a lot. The restaurant would not revenue off giving snacks away without cost—or excluding potential clients—however peanuts have been a fixture of 5 Guys for greater than twenty years. As Mashed experiences, there is a intelligent motive behind this baffling enterprise tactic.
In 2017, a former 5 Guys worker revealed a easy clarification for the peanut bins in a Reddit AMA. As they put it, “The peanuts are to distract the purchasers in order that they will not stare at us.”
Within the context of how 5 Guys operates, this is smart. Burgers take barely longer to prepare dinner there than they do at typical quick meals chains as a result of workers are forbidden from urgent down on the patties. This hands-off method is supposed to make sure the meat stays juicy. Each burger made at Five Guys is also cooked well done to keep away from diners getting sick (and to keep away from getting sued).
Quick meals clients used to snappy service might get impatient whereas ready for a burger at 5 Guys. The all-you-can-eat peanuts give them one thing to do in addition to complaining and holding up the road even additional.
Giving individuals free meals is a simple approach to hold them completely satisfied, however that also would not clarify why 5 Guys chooses peanuts over one thing friendlier to individuals with allergic reactions. Based on Stan Phelps, the snack might double as a warning signal. The restaurant makes use of peanut oil to prepare dinner its fries, so individuals with extreme peanut allergic reactions nonetheless would not be capable to eat there even when the peanut bins have been taken away. However not like complete peanuts, it is a lot simpler for somebody to by accident eat a french fry fried in peanut oil with out realizing it. 5 Guys notes the usage of peanut oil on its menu, however the packing containers overflowing with peanuts are a lot more durable to disregard.
So long as the chain fries its meals in peanut oil, the free peanuts will probably stay a part of its model. It is considered one of a number of examples of the corporate sticking to its methods, just like the strict “no supply” rule it enforces with everybody, even the president. Listed here are extra facts about Five Guys it’s best to know.
[h/t Mashed]
