Five Guys founder Jerry Murrell said a botched promotion for the chain's 40th anniversary led him to take an unusual step — handing out $1.5 million in bonuses to employees, partly because he didn't want to get shot in the back.
Murrell, 82, told Fortune magazine that the company was overwhelmed by demand during a buy-one-get-one-free promotion earlier this year, admitting the chain "screwed ... up" the rollout.
The promotion drew far more customers than expected, crashing the company's app and forcing some locations to shut down the offer early, sparking backlash online.
Rather than simply apologizing, Murrell said he decided to reward roughly 1,500 workers who were left scrambling to handle the surge.
"I didn't want anybody shooting me in the back or anything after the first day, because we really screwed it up. We had no idea that we were going to get that kind of response," Murrell joked in the interview.
The comment appeared to reference the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, though Murrell did not elaborate.
The bonuses, totaling $1.5 million, were distributed among employees following the chaotic promotion, which marked four decades since the company's founding.
Murrell, whose net worth is estimated at more than $400 million, said he believed the money was better spent rewarding workers than on personal luxuries.
"She still looks at me like I'm stupid, but I thought it was worth it. They worked so hard. They were so overwhelmed," he said, referring to his wife.
Five Guys initially apologized to customers on Feb. 18, acknowledging the disruption and the strain placed on employees.
"We let you down, and we're sorry," the company said at the time, adding that its "hardworking crews" had been put "in a difficult situation."
The chain later attempted to make things right by relaunching the promotion for four days in March.
"You visited our restaurants in overwhelming numbers, and we weren't ready for you. We didn't meet our own standards, and that's not something we take lightly. So we're asking for a do-over," the company said.
Murrell founded Five Guys in Arlington, Virginia, in 1986 and has led the company ever since.
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