five guys in NoMa

Five Guys Burgers and Fries Opens in NoMa

Washington, D.C., November 13, 2008… Five Guys, the popular homegrown restaurant that serves quality burgers and fries, opens today in the NoMa (north of Massachusetts Avenue) neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It joins Pound Coffee, which already is open, and two more restaurants -- Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli and Sister’s Pizza & Mussels, both scheduled to open in December -- in a retail building just outside the New York Avenue Metro station at 2^nd and N Streets, N.E.

The NoMa Five Guys outlet will be operated by Charley Beresford, Dee Beresford, and Steve Forehand, a family team that runs four other Five Guys franchises in the District -- one inside the new Nationals Ballpark and the others in Chinatown, National Place, and International Square. “We decided to come to NoMa because it’s the next emerging business center,” he said. “With all the new tenants moving in like the Department of Justice and NPR, we know there will be a need for food!”

Five Guys was founded in Arlington, Virginia in 1986 by the Morrell family, and is now franchised with 262 stores throughout the East Coast. Its menu consists of burgers with a choice of 16 free toppings, hot dogs, fries, and sodas. Washingtonian magazine has rated Five Guys burgers the best in the area for the last seven consecutive years.

Capital Retail Group and LeDroit Park Development Company are leasing the 8,000 square foot retail building constructed by the U.S. General Services Administration adjacent to the new headquarters of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The retail building, featuring outdoor seating and direct access to Metro, is open to the public. A Chevy Chase Bank ATM, installed next to the Five Guys restaurant space, has proved highly popular with NoMa workers; the ATM’s transaction volume tripled between August and September.

“Five Guys will provide great synergy with the other amenities at the ATF retail building,” said Carla Merritt of LeDroit Park Development Company. Added Robert Tack of Capital Retail Group (www.capitalretailgroup.com): “Steve has a great track record and the experience needed to make this store a success.”

“We are excited about the new retail amenities coming to NoMa that will serve not only local office workers but also nearby residents,” said Elizabeth Price, President of the NoMa Business Improvement District (BID). “There is a great demand for new, high quality restaurants and Five Guys will be a great addition. With Harris Teeter under construction and other retail announcements expected over the coming months, NoMa is becoming a great place to live, work, and eat!”

NoMa is an emerging mixed-use neighborhood north of the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in Washington, D.C. Private developers have invested over $1 billion in 2007–2008 alone, with plans to develop more than 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space in the 35-block area covered by the NoMa BID over the next 10 years. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, see the BID Web site at www.nomabid.org.