United States burger chain Five Guys planning to open in NZ next year
POPULAR United States burger chain Five Guys will open its first New Zealand stores next year, including in Queenstown.
The burger franchise known for its large portion sizes, fresh fries and American dinerstyle fast food has big plans for the New Zealand market.
The business plans to open five to 10 restaurants in New Zealand, after opening 20 stores in Australia in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, starting in the middle of the year.
Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group has signed an exclusive master franchise agreement with Five Guys to bring the brand to New Zealand and Australia.
David Ovens, chief marketing officer of Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group and director of franchise subsidiary company Blue Coral Concepts, which has been tasked with bringing the Five Guys to Australasia, said the company was obligated by the franchise agreement to open at least five stores in New Zealand.
He said he could see about 10 locations operating comfortably in the market.
The first Five Guys locations would open in Auckland, and others would follow in Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown, he said.
Seagrass and Five Guys was looking for hightraffic, High Street, city centre locations for the restaurants, but was yet to finalise any sites. The group will later this year begin scouting out potential sites for Auckland locations, with its target space range of 300sq m to 350sq m per store.
Each site will need to be approved by the Five Guys team in America.
‘‘Five Guys do not operate drivethroughs so we want to be in areas where there is a lot of foot traffic, areas where there are plenty of people around,’’ Mr Ovens said.
He could not confirm when in 2022 the first local Five Guys store would open, but said work for the New Zealand launch would begin towards the end of the year.
Seagrass would focus its efforts on the Five Guys rollout in Australia this year and the New Zealand launch the following year, he said.
The group would invest at least $A10 million ($NZ10.7 million) to bring Five Guys to New Zealand, about $A2 million on each restaurant location. Including Australia, that figure would be in excess of $A50 million.
Seagrass had been engaging with Five Guys since 2019, and initially planned to open outlets in both countries sooner, but Mr Ovens said it lost a year’s progress because of Covid.
Mr Ovens said Five Guys would set up a local supply chain to source its beef patties, burger buns and fries from Kiwi producers.
Each New Zealand restaurant would need 50 to 60 staff, Mr Ovens said.
He believed Five Guys would be received well in New Zealand, similarly to the way it had been in other markets.
Five Guys is Seagrass Group’s first franchise operation, it has six restaurant concepts which are companyowned and operated.
Mr Ovens said expansion opened up the group to possibly bringing its steak house and other eateries to New Zealand. The Meat & Wine Co could be an option, along with its Italian Street Kitchen and Ribs & Burgers brands. — The New Zealand Herald