Five Guys to close its only Visalia fast-food restaurant. Here’s why
Steve Pastis, Visalia Times-Delta
4 min read
Five Guys fast-food restaurant on Mooney Boulevard in Visalia will permanently close its doors on Thursday, Oct. 24, the result of a rent increase, according to Five Guys manager Gabriel Fierro.
“We’re no longer able to afford it,” he said. “They almost doubled the lease for our building. We were barely making it with our labor quotas ... at that time.”
Even so, Fierro doesn’t blame the building owner for the increase.
“It's not just the building owner,” he said. “I don't want to make him sound like the bad guy. It's the leases all around Visalia.”
Five Guys has announced their Visalia restaurant will close as of Thursday this week.
Will Five Guys open a new Visalia location?
Fierro expects local lease prices to keep Five Guys from opening another location in Visalia anytime soon.
“All these different lease management companies, they're wanting an arm and a leg for property right now,” he said. “It is hard to open up a new location. I don't really quite understand why they don't look for an empty lot around here and move us into that, but the powers-that-be make that decision, not us.”
Five Guys did well in Visalia during the pandemic, but business slowed significantly in the recent economy, Fierro said.
“It's hard to believe but I would say during COVID, business actually picked up. I feel like during that time, people were taking their health and their food a lot more seriously," he said. "Our service, our quality of the ingredients here at Five Guys, in my opinion, is second to none when it comes to burgers and meals like that."
Fierro added that in the last year, sales have declined.
“We were waiting for this holiday season to pick up because usually we get busy in the holiday season," he said. "It's unfortunate that we didn't get that chance to see what would have happened this holiday season.”
Five Guys’ employees were informed at a store meeting on Oct. 17 that they would all be laid off, according to Fierro.
“They gave us a week's notice,” he said. “They let us know that next week, the lease is up on the store, and they're not going to renew it.
“It kind of sucks that we only got a week notice for that,” he added. “I don't understand that. They said that they just found out that day, but it's kind of hard to believe that they decided that day to shut things down.”
Shift lead Graham Kelly takes an order Wednesday, October 23, 2024 at Five Guys in Visalia. The chain announced their Visalia location will close as of Thursday this week.
Five Guys’ prices
When news of Five Guys closing its Visalia location hit social media, some people expressed their sadness. Most, however, blamed the fast-food chain’s prices for keeping prospective customers away.
“When you charge a steakhouse price for a burger, it’s no wonder you’re closing your doors,” wrote one.
“Too expensive,” wrote another, “even before the wage increases.”
“They are kind of high,” Fierro conceded. “I would agree to that in a way, but I feel like that's where you value quality. Our prices haven't gone up since last year, even though the wage increase went up about $4 for us all around.
“We weren't able to make up for that financial loss right there,” he continued. “But if we were to raise our burgers from $14 to $16, I'm sure people wouldn't come in.”
The decisionmakers at the Five Guys corporate offices have plans to reverse the company’s decline in business, according to Fierro.
“My understanding is the company is trying to fight this by doing BOGO (buy-one-get-one) deals on delivery service, such as like Uber Eats,” he said. “Also, for the first time in the company's history, they’re going to be doing advertisements.
Fierro said he is “probably not” going to get another job in the food service industry.
“The way it's looking with food service in California, it is just very hard to meet demand in terms of labor costs,” he said. “Things are getting automated. The job security for food service isn't quite there anymore so I'm looking into retail. Other people here have been looking into other options, other revenues, such as retail or warehouse work.”
Five Guys employee Autumn Ormonde, near, is joined by friends Savannah Sue, left, and Shania Navarrette on her last shift at Five Guys in Visalia. The chain announced their Visalia location will close as of Thursday this week.
He explained that working conditions are also better in those industries.
“Ever since the wage increase went up, our employees here went from having like 28 hours a week to having 15 hours. The people that are full-time ended up being part-time," Fierro said. "It goes hand-in-hand, like a double-edged blade. Whenever you increase prices on things, someone has to suffer.”
