EFEB Students Learn from Five Guys Leaders

The Economics, Finance, Entrepreneurship, and Business (EFEB) Concentration hosted its third speaker of the school year with a visit from Potomac parent Sam Chamberlain and Potomac alum Skip Calvert ’01. Mr. Chamberlain is the COO of Five Guys, and Mr. Calvert is the vice president of operations. In his talk "American Dream: History of Five Guys and Restaurant Economics," Mr. Chamberlain discussed the history of Five Guys, which opened its first restaurant in 1986 in Northern Virginia and has expanded into a multinational company with nearly 2,000 stores across 26 countries. He also covered the economics of restaurant management and the higher margins investors require to compensate for the associated risks, breaking down the Five Guys basic restaurant cost structure and where the business prioritizes spending to ensure a quality product. Fun fact: Five Guys has added only one menu item - the milkshake - in its nearly 38 years of operations!