Five Guys and CVS new on State Street
JAMES HIGHSMITH
Staff Writer
MEGHAN CARPENTER THE WASHTENAW VOICE
The former site of the Shaman Drum Bookstore on State Street will house Five Guys Burgers and Fries starting in January 2011.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries plans to open a restaurant in Ann Arbor in January 2011 after a two-month delay.
And students and fans of the popular restaurant chain are excited.
“I’ve only been once, and it was when I was in Virginia, but I still can’t wait for it to open,” said Max Kinsey, 21, a University of Michigan junior. “The place is good and opening up right in the heart of campus just makes it that much better.”
Five Guys Burgers and Fries will occupy one of the most populated streets in the downtown area — South State Street. The chain will replace the old Shaman Drum store and will have several other popular hamburger restaurants to compete with.
Quickie Burger and @burger provide for competition within the general vicinity of Five Guys, but the biggest competition will undoubtedly come from Ann Arbor’s renowned Blimpy Burger.
“I’ve never had @burger or Quickie Burger, but Blimpy Burger is hard for any restaurant to compete with,” said Kinsey. “Everyone knows Blimpy and I’m not sure how confident people will be in making a switch.”
But Five Guys expects so much business it’s creating additional seating in the basement. The restaurant will become the 11th in Michigan and will be just one of over 625 establishments the chain has across the United States.
That is just one of two major changes on State Street. A few doors north of Five Guys, a CVS Pharmacy will also be opening.
The CVS project is underway and buildings where the new CVS will be are being demolished. As a result, State Street sidewalks have been closed, and lane closures have stalled traffic.
“‘Does downtown really need a drug store?’ is what I first asked myself,” said Lauren Douglass, 27, of Ann Arbor. “I came to the conclusion that it could be nice, but the construction has been unbearable. Such a hassle. It seems that traffic backs up on State (Street) much worse than it previously had.”
Some embrace the idea of a drugstore in the neighborhood, however.
“It’ll be nice to have a drugstore back downtown,” said Allen Curtis, 38, of Ann Arbor. “It makes my life easier and that’s for sure.”
CVS has more than 7,000 locations in the United States and this will be the chain’s sixth store in Ann Arbor.
