American chain Five Guys wades into Toronto’s burger wars

American chain Five Guys wades into Toronto’s burger wars

Five Guys Burger and Fries in New York’s West Village (Image: Angela N.)

Subway may have just surpassed McDonald’s as the world’s largest food chain, but that doesn’t mean the burger craze is dead. Patty pushers like M:Brgr and The Burger’s Priest have been going gangbusters since opening (the same can’t be said for Oh Boy! Burger Market; RIP), and now there’s a new kid on the block: Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a Virginia-based restaurant chain whose business is sizzling stateside (pun intended). There are already two outposts just outside the city, in Vaughan and Mississauga, and a new location is set to open at 800 Warden Avenue in Scarborough in either June or July.

More akin to The Burger’s Priest’s stripped-down approach than M:Brgr’s upscale effort (their $100 burger is already the stuff of legend), Five Guys offers a bare-bones menu and a wide assortment of toppings for their flat-top grilled patties. Apparently, Shaquille O’Neal and Barack Obama are fans. Curious carnivores unwilling to make the trek to Scarborough can simply wait: a Five Guys spokesman confirmed that locations will open in the downtown core in the near future.

• Five Guys coming to Toronto [Toronto Star]