Five Guys Coming to Peabody

Every week we set out to answer a question submitted by one of our readers as part of our column.

Curious what’s going up where the Mobil gas station used to be on Route 114 next to ?

Well, maybe this will help answer that question: do you enjoy munching on a handful of peanuts while you wait for your burger?

Building Commissioner Kevin Goggin says Peabody is getting its very own Five Guys Burgers and Fries at 227 Andover St. The restaurant chain, which has burger joints in 46 states and six Canadian provinces, lists Peabody as one of three new locations opening soon in Massachusetts.

The other two new stores will be in Burlington and Chelsea. In total, there are more than 900 locations.

Five Guys is perhaps best known for its variety of combinations on a burger – similar to Fuddruckers. Five Guys claims there are more than 250,000 possible ways to order your burger, in fact.

Goggin said the foundation for the new freestanding building is already in and his understanding is that the plan is to finish the restaurant by May. No official grand opening has been announced yet by Five Guys.

Construction began in earnest this past fall, although Goggin says he was first made aware of plans for a Five Guys restaurant a couple years ago.

He said environmental cleanup for the site took up much of that time until the Department of Environmental Protection and Peabody Conservation Commission cleared the project to begin. Underground fuel tanks from the former gas station were also removed.

Goggin said there were a couple minor delays in construction over the past month because of water on the site – the first frost of the season settling in didn’t help either, but construction is now back on track to wrap up in four months.

The closest Five Guys restaurants are currently in Swampscott and Saugus.