By Ryan Wynne

Bellingham’s burger options got a little bigger May 20 when Five Guys Burgers and Fries held its grand opening at 1301 W. Bakerview Road Suite 101.

Michael Cummings and Jeff Howes own the restaurant and Cummings said the grand opening was indeed grand. Approximately 450 people showed up that Thursday and the store’s customer visits have only gone up since ― 600 to 700 people have visited Five Guys every day since it opened.

Options aren’t the only things that grew with the restaurant’s opening, so did the size of a regular burger in Bellingham. Regular hamburgers at Five Guys are served with two quarter-pound patties and the little hamburgers with only one. Fry servings are big, too. A regular fry can feed two people and a large fry four.

In addition to bigger regular-burger standards, Five Guys sets itself apart from fast food joints by having a very focused menu limited to burgers, fries, soft drinks and hot dogs. Not only that, they don’t have any freezers, Cummings said. All burgers are made from fresh pressed patties and fries are cut each morning.

“All we have is burgers and fries so we have to make sure they are the best they can be,” Cummings said.

He said everything is made to order in an open kitchen where customers can watch their meals come together while listening to 70s and 80s rock.

The new restaurant is one of about 600 Five Guys Burgers and Fries in the nation, 55 of which are owned by Cummings and Howes. The two opened the Bellingham location, which has 40 employees, about four weeks after opening a restaurant in Marysville.

Cummings said he has four more stores in the queue, specifically one in Burlington and one in Everett. As for the last two locations, Cummings said he has yet to decide.

For more information, visit www.fiveguys.com.