The restaurant partnered with OLO Online Ordering to create the app, which was built by Solertium, and uses OLO’s application programming interface (API) to let customers order a quick meal from virtually anywhere and pay for it online. Five Guys also launched text-message ordering and a mobile Web site with OLO alongside the release of the application.

“This was built on top of the Five Guys online ordering platform, which allows customers to place orders and pay online and have orders transmitted directly to the Radiant or MICROS point-of-sale system at the store,” said Noah Herbert Glass, founder/CEO of OLO Online Ordering, New York.

OLO provides mobile and online ordering capabilities for more than 2,000 restaurants, including Subway, Cold Stone Creamery and Dallas BBQ.

Five Guys began in Arlington, VA, in 1986, and has since turn into a franchised restaurant group with more than 730 nationwide locations.

All about Android
Five Guys’ decision to launch the mobile ordering application through Google’s Android is reflective of the device’s increasing market share, which the restaurant chain hopes to tap into.

Mobile Marketer reported that the Android operating system is No. 1 among smartphone platforms after only two months in second place, holding 31.2 percent of the market share. RIM’s BlackBerry followed with 30.4 percent market share, and Apple’s iOS ranked third with 24.7 percent (see story).

Software company Solertium built and powered the Android application, which lets users search for nearby stores and place orders for delivery and pickup.

“This app connects customers directly to the point-of-sale,” Mr. Glass said.

BlackBerry and iPhone versions of the Five Guys application are coming soon.

How it works
Customers can use the application by entering their ZIP code and finding the closest Five Guys restaurant. From there, users can build a custom order, pay with a credit or debit card, and choose between pick-up and delivery.

Orders via the mobile Web site work the same way.

Customers can customize their order through the app

Ordering through text message is another option. By texting the keyword MENU to short code 466626, customers are sent a list of Five Guys’ options, and can reply back with an order. Five Guys will send a text confirmation and pick-up time.

Customers can also save their favorite orders for faster ordering in the future.

“Our strategy in launching this app was to put the Five Guys ordering experience in the hands of Five Guys customers,” Mr. Glass said.