I started working here back before it was even open. I was walking by with my mom in January 2007, and one of the owners was sitting outside with a table and a stack of applications. I applied and was called back the next day. We trained for a couple months as they finished the building, and then we opened. I worked here for 11 months, and then left to move to New York once I graduated in December. So as I write this review, I write it both as someone who has seen the inner workings and also as someone who has been a mere customer. While working here, I was highly impressed with the freshness of the food. We would arrive well before the restaurant opened, and would chop all the onions, slice the tomatoes, hand cut and wash the potatoes that were going to be used for fries, pull the lettuce, and weigh out the chop meat, ensuring that everything that was going to be used that day was fresh and prepared that very morning. Nothing got reused the following day, and nothing was frozen. Seven years later, the food is still just as good and fresh as before, but the extreme drive for professionalism and cleanliness is now gone. That first year that they were open, there was an extreme push for everything to be sanitary and spotless. Employees never touched even so much as their apron without trading out their gloves, and it was actually something that was shouted frequently. "Change your gloves!" was a playful yet serious direction shouted from one employee or group of employees to another employee doing something to compromise the cleanliness of their gloves. All day long, you could hear "Change your gloves!" Being in there now, this does not seem to be said even infrequently. Last week, I came here three days over the course of a five day period. I witnessed numerous employees adjusting their shirts, fixing their Five Guys hat, or even sweeping, and not changing out their gloves. And no one said a word. A stark contrast from when I worked here. Also, the floors were kept spotless back then, but now are dirty and sticky. The bathrooms used to be inspected on the hour, but now were missing toilet paper and had wet napkins stuck to the walls. "Quality control" was the position name for the person who handed out food to the customers. He's the guy that yells "order 70"... Back in the day, we were instructed that if you were on quality control, you smiled at all times, and always looked the person in the eyes as you handed them their food. Now, your order number is yelled out and then your food is placed on the counter, and the quality control guy goes back to where he was, leaving you to pick your food up on your own. Having your food handed to you is a very small thing, but it goes a long way. I understand that people get lax as businesses get older, but back in the day this place seemed almost a pioneer in the fast food industry. Even though it was, technically, fast food, it did not feel like a fast food joint. Now, it feels no different than being inside a McDonald's or Burger King. read more