By Tommy Stuart

Sometimes to get a lot of business in the restaurant industry, you don’t need to have overwhelming variety.

Lexington became home to Five Guys Burgers and Fries on May 22, and location owner Tyler Barton said it has been nothing short of a “tremendous response.”

Five Guys doesn’t do a whole lot. They have burgers, fries and hot dogs, and that’s about it.

“The secret to Five Guys’ success is its simplicity,” according to an article from Restaurant Business magazine published in August 2006 that’s hanging on the wall among a myriad of other accolades from the likes of GQ and the Washingtonian.Despite the menu’s minimalism, there are over 250,000 ways to order a burger at Five Guys, beginning with the choice between a little burger or a regular one.

The little burgers aren’t actually small; they just have one patty while the regular burgers have two. From there, customers can choose from well over a dozen free toppings like mushrooms, onions and jalapeño peppers.

Five Guys only makes burgers well done, so the rare burger enthusiasts might be a little disappointed. But since there are no freezers at any Five Guys locations, their products are always fresh.

“When you come in here, we don’t have anything cooked,” Barton said. “All meals are made to order. We don’t have any heat lamps or anything, so it takes five to six minutes to cook your burger and get it out to you.”

It all started in 1986 when Jerry Murrell, his wife, Janie, and their three oldest sons built the first Five Guys in Arlington, Va.

Since then, the Murrells have two more sons working with them and Five Guys has grown to more than 300 locations in 25 states, with one of the newest sites in Lexington.

“Lexington is such a vibrant community,” Barton said. “I moved here about a year and a half ago and I just love it.”

The restaurant has been busy since opening and Barton expects everything to stay busy or to see an increase in business as long as they keep up their standard of quality.

“I definitely do not regret coming here,” Andrew Wigger, 20, said while visiting Five Guys with his girlfriend.

“The burger is well worth my money at five dollars and the fries are pretty good, too.”