A Top 10 best-of-the-best, if you will.
To no surprise the usuals were included. Craigie on Main in Cambridge finished 10th, B. Good downtown finished 8th and BU stable UBurger ultimately came out the favorite at #1. Nothing new, right? One inclusion though downright seemed like a slap in the face to me.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries finished second. That’s right, second on a list of locals? A national chain based out of Washington, DC.
So what, who cares you say. It’s delicious.
True but giving Five Guys a local label is like calling Blue Moon a craft beer, IKEA a small furniture store or Subway an artisan sandwich joint. Point is, a national chain doesnt deserve to be ranked among the true local favorites like R.F O’Sullivan & Son, Back Bay Social Club, Eagle’s Deli and others.
It doesn’t matter if they make it as un-chainy as possible with its basic red and white colors or local reviews in bold-face print inside each store; Five Guys is still in the same family with McDonald’s, Wendy’s and the ultra unpopular Chick-fil-a. Fresh ingredients, yes. Better service, ok. But they’re all related. Hundreds of locations nationwide, likely helping in the extinction of a small business or two.
So does a national chain like Five Guys, deserve the ‘local’ label so many hardworking small establishments have built through years of sweat and hard work are they just another Yankee disguised as a Red Sox.