Calloway Consolidated Group owns and operates 14 Five Guys fast food restaurants in four northeast Florida cities, including Jacksonville, Gainesville, St. Augustine and Jacksonville Beach. The company, consistently listed on the Jacksonville Business Journal’s “BJ50” list of the region’s fastest privately held companies, employs about 400 employees. With an average annual revenue growth of 33.1 percent over the past three years, the company recently announced a commitment to open 11 more restaurants.

1. Case Study:
Calloway Consolidated Group: Five Guys Burgers & Fries
The Company:
Calloway Consolidated Group owns and operates 14 Five Guys fast food restaurants in
four northeast Florida cities, including Jacksonville, Gainesville, St. Augustine and
Jacksonville Beach. The company, consistently listed on the Jacksonville Business
Journal’s “BJ50” list of the region’s fastest privately held companies, employs about 400
employees. With an average annual revenue growth of 33.1 percent over the past three
years, the company recently announced a commitment to open 11 more restaurants.
The Challenge:
“We’re focused on a simple menu of great burgers, fries and hotdogs, delivered
quickly,” says Lynn Thorsen, Managing Director at Calloway Consolidated Group. “That
means every facet of our operation must be running smoothly. If it doesn’t, we can’t
perform, and we have unhappy customers.” Calloway Consolidated relies on its online
presence on a daily basis, including reordering food products for each restaurant, and
extends to online training delivered to every new employee. “Consistent uptime, quality
and reliability are key for us. Our clients demand it from us; we demand it from our
vendors,” Thorsen says.
The Solution: Windstream Communications
“We have managers who are busy; the last thing they can worry about are problems
with their stores’ phone or DSL service,” Thorsen adds. Since Calloway Consolidated
began working with Windstream, there have been no systems issues and service has
been consistently reliable. “The systems are always working when they need it. If they
weren’t, I’d get a call,” Thorsen says.
Calloway Consolidated relies on Windstream for high-speed Internet, fax and phone
service to power its communications abilities, from telephone to the connections needed
to power the POS system at each restaurant location, including instantaneous credit
card approval.

2. Thorsen also values the relationship she’s built up over time with her Windstream
consultant, as part of Windstream’s “Hi-Touch” approach, where each client’s needs are
addressed individually, helping them craft a solution that meets their specific
requirements. “Our account manager has taken excellent care of us. On a scale of 10,
she’s an 11,” Thorsen says. “I’m very grateful for her. We’ve never had any complaints
from our store managers about the quality of Windstream’s service; if they call in with a
problem, they’re helped immediately.”
The Future
As Calloway Consolidated continues its expansion, it continues to rely on Windstream
to provide each new location with on-time delivery of its communications needs. “We’re
in customer service, so we know what good service looks like,” Thorsen says. “And I
know we get it with Windstream.”