A new Five Guys Burger and Fries joint has officially opened today at the Sky View Center in Flushing, which has a shopping center located beneath residential condominiums, according to a statement released by the Sky View Center today.

The new outlet is now officially open on level B of the 800,000-square-foot regional mall. “We’re so pleased to welcome a fantastic brand like Five Guys Burgers and Fries to Sky View Center,” said Michael Dana, president of Onex Real Estate Partners, owner and developer of Sky View Parc. “We’re constantly looking for ways to enhance our customers’ shopping experience and we’re confident that Five Guys will quickly become a popular attraction.” -- Miranda Neubauer [more]

From the September issue: With a new Shake Shack in Grand Central, Five Guys all over Midtown and BareBurger in Park Slope and Astoria, the city’s ongoing burger boom is showing no signs of slowing down. But New York only has room for so many burger joints. So which of the many new options are winning over New Yorkers’ stomachs?

Volume-wise, the clear winner is Five Guys Burgers and Fries, which has spread like wildfire over the past few years. Founded in Virginia in 1986, Five Guys was the fastest-growing restaurant chain nationally in 2010, according to Technomic, a market research firm. It currently has nine locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and is expected to open 12 to 20 new locations in the area over the next year, according to Andrew Moger, the CEO of Branded Concept Development, a design and construction firm that has worked with Five Guys.

Known for its made-to-order hamburgers, 11 free toppings and hand-cut fries, Five Guys developed a cult following in Virginia before founder Jerry Murrell started franchising in 2002. The chain is successful, Moger said, because it sticks to what it does best — serving only burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches and fries — at a reasonable price point. [more]

A new restaurant is finally coming in to replace Carmine’s Italian Seafood, the 107-year-old South Street Seaport fixture that closed last June. According to DNAinfo, a steakhouse called the Fighting Chair, a project by the same entrepreneurs responsible for Five Guys’ entrance into Manhattan a few years ago, will take the space at 212 Front Street. The Fighting Chair, named after fishermen’s chairs, will be an upscale venture completely separate from the hamburger chain. [more]

Fast food chain eatery Five Guys Burgers and Fries has signed a 15-year lease for 1,500 square feet of retail space at 343 Seventh Avenue near the corner of 29th Street, according to the tenant’s broker, Branded Concept Development. The asking rent on the space, which was previously leased by an art supply store, was $19,000 a month. The landlord, 245 7th Avenue LLC, was represented by Bernstein Real Estate. TRD [more]

Energy Kitchen, the 500-calorie-or-less fast-food chain based in New York City, is readying at least a dozen franchised restaurants for 2011 debuts, according to the Post. Sales in the healthy eatery’s 10 New York-area stores, three of which opened this year, have risen by 25 percent since 2009, said founder Anthony Leone. And Mike Repole, who co-founded Vitaminwater and is backing the restaurant, said he ultimately sees as many as 1,000 Energy Kitchen locations opening worldwide, with deals already signed in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore for next year. [more]

Declining New York City rental prices may be tough on commercial landlords, but the trend has been good for emerging businesses, according to The Real Deal’s Editor, Stuart Elliott. The recession has precipitated new enterprises, with companies given the chance to snatch up leases at a bargain rate, Elliott told Fox Business News.
“Since the fallout on Wall Street last year there’s been a big decline in rents so that’s really given a lot of new retailers opportunities to open up in the city and come in for the first time,” Elliott said. Chain restaurant Five Guys burgers is one of many businesses taking advantage of the reduced rates in the city. With sales up 25 to 30 percent year-over-year and an aggressive expansion plan in place, the chain intend to open a Third Avenue spot in the coming weeks.
[more]

From the October issue: Like a truly recession-weary New Yorker, this year restaurant mogul
Steve Hanson has opted to swap foie gras for burgers and fries. In January, Hanson, founder of the B.R. Guest restaurant empire,
stunned foodies by shutting down his three-star Italian gem Fiamma, a
Soho spot famous for its $92 prix fixe menu laden with indulgent foods
like foie gras and quail eggs. In published reports, Hanson blamed the recession’s decimation of Wall Streeters’ dining dollars. Now he’s firing up the grill for a far more modest American culinary staple: burgers. Hanson has leased the former home of barbeque joint the Hog Pit at 22
Ninth Avenue at 13th Street in the Meatpacking District for Bill’s Bar
& Burger. It’s slated to open later this month, serving up turkey
burgers and perhaps even spiked milkshakes.