Five Guys Burgers and Fries in Grandville opened on Monday, Aug. 12 The popular burger chain is located at 3090 44th Street Southwest next to Cabela's. (Emily Zoladz | Mlive.com)

MUSKEGON, MI – Word that a Five Guys Burger and Fries will open in the new building being constructed off the foundation of the former Perkins restaurant have many in Muskegon giving high fives.

For others, the question is: “Five, who?”

Five Guys is the latest burger-joint sensation to sweep the country and recently West Michigan. The Washington D.C.-area burger chain has gained a cult-like following since the Jerry and Janie Murrell family began a burger outlet in Arlington, Va., in 1986.

The chain has grown to more than 1,000 locations with the 21st location in Michigan expected to open in late-winter or early-spring. The company has its locations in 47 states and six Canadian provinces.

A Five Guys opened in July in Holland and in August in Grandville as a West Michigan manager said the lines have just stopped snaking out the door at the Grandville location.

Five Guys is being brought to 5411 Harvey in Norton Shores on the corner of Sternberg Road in the heart of The Lakes Mall shopping area. It will share a refurbished commercial building that was built in 2001 for a Perkins restaurant, which closed in 2011 amid the company’s bankruptcy.

“I am told a lot of people are anxious for a Five Guys to open in Muskegon,” said Win Development’s Vice President of Development Steven Alafauzanos. Win Development LLC, of Belleaire, Fla., is taking the old Perkins building down to the steel structure and foundation and building back a 7,500-square-foot retail outlet for Five Guys and the Mattress Firm – a discount bedding retailer with more than 700 stores in 23 states.

But it is Five Guys that will get the most attention. It even has its own line to T-shirts, sweatshirts and ball caps for the true Five Guys fan.

The Murrells gave their four young sons the option of college or a new business venture and the kids picked the business, which has become the Five Guys phenomenon. The company’s burger system is simple: Fresh ground hamburger cooked on a flat-top grill and placed between fresh-baked buns.

The company claims that with all of its dressing as extras such as cheese and bacon, there are 250,000 possible combinations of burgers at a Five Guys.

The other successful menu item is fresh-cut and peanut-oil cooked French fries. The menu also offers hot dogs and a few sandwiches, but as the name implies, this place is about burgers and fries. Five Guys is also known for offering shelled, roasted peanuts to customers as they wait for the cook-to-order burgers.

Five Guys was one of the first chains in the nation to bring out the new Coca-Cola “freestyle” beverage machine. The digital pop dispenser allows for a few dozen Coke products to be dispensed with a variety of flavors from cherry, vanilla and raspberry among others. This is the same beverage machine first introduced to the Muskegon market at Burger King on Henry Street and then by Firehouse Subs, which opened on Henry Street in Norton Shores last month.

The former Perkins Restaurant and Bakery building, 5411 Harvey, is being taken down to build back up a new Five Guys Burger and Fries and a Mattress Firm outlet.

In early 2003, the Murrells decided to take Five Guys out to the nation through a franchise program. In just 18 months, options were sold for more than 300 units – a huge franchise success story written by the business press around the country. The company claims to have 1,500 new units in development under franchise contracts.

The Michigan Five Guys are owned and operated out of Bloomfield Hills by BAC Holdings. The Muskegon store will be owned by BAC Muskegon LLC, according to Alafauzanos.

Besides the Five Guys in Holland and Grandville, the Michigan company also operates burger outlets in Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Grand Blanc, Portage and 15 in the greater Detroit area.

Win Development is a builder of retail outlets for the Vitamin Shoppe, the Mattress Firm, Panda Express and Verizon Wireless outlets. The Norton Shores project is unique in that the new 7,500-square-foot commercial building will be constructed from the shell of the old Perkins as demolition is already underway.

“We will be redoing the interior and reconstructing the façade,” Alafauzanos said. “That is a more cost-effective approach as this was a fairly new building.”

Work on the old Perkins is being done by Damico Building Group of Troy, Mich. The developer expects to have the basic structure completed by the end of the year.

Dave Alexander covers business and local government for MLive/The Muskegon Chronicle. Email him at dalexan1@mlive.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.