Five Guys Burgers and Fries to open next week

The owner of the Springfield locations of Five Guys Burgers and Fries is planning to open his first franchise in the city next week.

Jeff Offutt, who also operates two Five Guys locations in Columbia, said the Battlefield Mall location of the fast-casual hamburger and sandwich restaurant concept will open Dec. 11 or Dec. 12.

The eatery is located in the outdoor lifestyle center of Simon Properties’ Battlefield Mall near HuHot Mongolian Grill.

Offutt spent roughly $500,000 to set up in Springfield and signed long-term leases at the mall and at Jared Enterprises' Town and Country Shopping Center at 2711 N. Kansas Expressway.

He said he is planning to open the Kansas Expressway location in January.

The Battlefield Mall and Town and Country locations were slated to open in late August and late September, respectively, and those dates had been delayed by about three months due to coordination between Five Guys’ contractors in Atlanta and Springfield’s Building and Development Services Department, Offutt said in June.

Between the two locations, Offutt said there will initially be about 100 hourly and salaried employees, including a nine-member management team. He said Tammy Pino has been hired as operations manager overseeing both stores. After about six months, he said the employee count would wind down to about 70, due to the increased staffing needs of opening the restaurants.

Offutt said the average Five Guys franchise restaurant earns about $1.1 million per year.

"I believe Springfield is a very burger-friendly area, so I would expect that between the two stores, we'll be at the national average or slightly above," he said.

Offutt added he has purchased land on Range Line Road in Joplin to open a Five Guys eatery in the second quarter of 2013.