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Five Guys CEO Appears to Reference Luigi Mangione Shooting as to Why He Doled Out $1.5 Million in Bonuses
The CEO of fast-food burger joint Five Guys was recently feeling extra generous — and with good reason.
After the restaurant chain celebrated their 40th birthday on February 17 with a buy one burger, get one free (BOGO) promotion that resulted in an overwhelming response, the company announced they would do it again — “the right way.”
Admitting that they made a mistake, CEO Jerry Murrell told Fortune in an interview published Wednesday, March 25, that he gave out $1.5 million in bonuses ($1,000 per store) to its workers.
“I didn’t want anybody shooting me in the back or anything after the first day, because we really screwed it up,” he told the publication jokingly, seemingly referring to the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Luigi Mangione has been charged in his murder, and he has since pleaded not guilty.
“We had no idea that we were going to get that kind of response,” Murrell, 82, added.
Murrell said that he was “gonna buy my wife a new fur coat” with that money, but instead, “I spent it on [the bonus].”
“She still looks at me like I’m stupid,” he said of his wife. “But I thought it was worth it. They worked so hard. They were so overwhelmed.”
Following the initial 40th birthday celebration, the company said in a press release, “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.”
“I always think it’s funny when people go to sales,” Murrell reflected in his Fortune interview. “I never thought they worked. We tried this one, buy one, get one free. Holy smokes. I couldn’t believe all the people that jumped on that. I thought maybe increased sales like 20 percent or something — that was like 130 percent. So I felt I screwed up.”
“We did it over again, and the crew did good that day, because they were prepared, but they worked so hard that I thought, now I better give them a bonus,” he said.
The UnitedHealthcare CEO, who was shot to death in New York City, on December 4, 2024, is believed to have been killed because of ill will towards the health insurance industry.
