Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a popular fast food chain, will be opening a restaurant in Shelton off Bridgeport Avenue.
The building — behind the Ruby Tuesday at 811 Bridgeport Ave. — is under construction, so company officials can’t say when the business will open.
But Nick Marona, whose family owns RMM Hospitality Group LLC, the franchisee for the burger chain in Fairfield County, confirmed the company’s plans for the site Wednesday.
“We are going to be going into that location,” Marona said Wednesday, though he added: “There’s still a lot of odds and ends that need to be resolved.”
RMM has been looking to open a restaurant in either Shelton or Stratford for months.
“It’s always been a market that we’ve been targeting,” Marona said, mentioning the city’s large daytime population and the several nearby office buildings full of prospective lunch customers as positives that drew the company to the location.
“Just visiting some of the local restaurants and seeing the dynamic that’s there, it’s just perfect for a Five Guys,” Marona added.
Interest from Valley residents also seems to be high. A story that the Valley Indy ran in March about the company looking to move into Shelton attracted 132 “Likes” and 68 comments on Facebook within a few hours.
The Planning and Zoning Commission last week approved a minor modification of the “Planned Development District” at the property to allow the restaurant in the building at the request of the property’s owner, who will lease space there to Five Guys.
Click here to read the minutes. The discussion of the site begins at the bottom of page 12.
Rick Schultz, an administrator with the city’s Planning and Zoning Department, said Wednesday he anticipates another application for the business to occupy the building at an upcoming meeting.
Marona said Wednesday that his company plans to take up about 2/3 of the building at the property, with a patio for outside dining as well.
RMM Hospitality first opened a Five Guys in 2006, in Newtown. Since then they’ve expanded to locations in Brookfield, Fairfield, Norwalk, Westport, and Stamford.
That’s a bit of an achievement, considering the state of the business climate the past few years.
“Considering the climate we’re in economically, we’ve maintained a significant customer base,” Marona said. “We offer good value to our customers.”
The first Five Guys opened in Arlington, Va. in 1986. There are more than 900 locations today.
Five Guys has a loyal fan base. The Newtown location, for example, averages more than four stars on yelp, with 12 reviews.
