Daniel Espinoza is preparing to fire up the grill and open the doors of a new mount airy restaurant in the face of a recession that continues to depress industry sales.
“It is challenging to become a manager and open a new store now, but i am excited,” said Espinoza, manager of the Five Guys hamburger restaurant set to open on East Ridgeville Boulevard at the end of April. “Our challenge as managers is to keep growing the business, keep opening more stores.”
Statewide, restaurant sales dropped 1 percent, or $90 million, last year to $9 billion, and nearly 2 percent to $166 million in carroll county, according to maryland’s office of the comptroller.
Yet Five Guys is in an “extreme growth mode,” company officials say, and that is creating new jobs in carroll county.
“There is no such thing as a recession-proof business,” said Todd Levitt, owner of the franchising rights for Five Guys in Carroll and North Frederick counties. “But this is such a unique concept in the restaurant world that even in this type of economy it’s a manageable and fun and successful business.” Read full story.
