Five Guys burgers, new parking meters headed to this Pierce County city’s town center

University Place will soon have another fast-food option as well as new parking enforcement to help keep spaces available for businesses in the area.

Alexandria, Virginia-based Five Guys is set to open its latest Pierce County restaurant at 3626 Market Place W., Suite 2, in the next few months.

The location is part of University Place’s Village at Chambers Bay — the city’s town center.

A “coming soon” listing for the site is on the chain’s website, and job listingsstarted appearing online in May. Pay ranges (not including tips) are $17-19 an hour for its work crew and $21-$23 an hour for site manager.

The company via its media team did not immediately respond to request for comment to provide an opening date.

Kevin Briske, director of University Place’s Community and Economic Development Department, told The News Tribune in response to questions this week that a permitting application was filed with the city earlier this year.

A building permit was issued April 4, “and the general contractor has informed the city it would take about 3 months to build out,” Briske told The News Tribune via email. “They have not yet informed the city on when they plan to open.”

He added that the space is 2,400 square feet, and the estimated build-out cost is $625,000.

With addition of Five Guys, “All of the existing commercial spaces in the Village at Chambers Bay are now leased or open,” he added.

The burger chain touts “more than 250,000 ways to customize your burger and more than 1,000 milkshake combinations.” The University Place location will be its fourth in Pierce County.

Its other area locations are 4027 Tacoma Mall Blvd, Suite A, in the Rainier Place Shopping Center near REI in Tacoma; 5605 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd. SW in Lakewood; and 1002 N. Meridian St. in Puyallup.

The chain also has locations in Federal Way, Olympia, Lacey and Silverdale.

Including University Place, the restaurant has more than 30 locations in Washington state.

Parking meters

The Village at Chambers Bay is anchored by Whole Foods Market (which opened in 2015) and includes apartments, city offices, a Pierce County Public Library branch and additional shops/restaurants.

As the site has grown, so too have efforts to better control parking.

The city recently announced new 90-minute parking meters along Market Place West at the Village, “intended to ensure a fair and equitable turnover of parking spots for those patronizing businesses in the Village, especially for those with accessibility and mobility issues,” according to a May 22 statement.

There will be eight stalls around Market Court and two additional parallel stalls on Market Street by the Civic Building set aside for free 15-minute parking. There also “are more than 500 free parking spaces in the Village at Chambers Bay garage and free parking along Bridgeport Way West,” the city noted in a May 29 update.

Briske said Thursday, “The City installed the posts for them last week and the meters should come in about a month. The activation date for the meters has not been set yet.”

Since street and on-street parking are in the public right-of-way, the city is installing and paying for the meters at a cost of approximately $50,000, according to Briske.

According to an update in the city’s May 29 newsletter, the parking fee is 50 cents for the first half hour, and 25 cents for each additional 15 minutes, with $1.50 the cost for the full 90 minutes. The amounts are payable by coin, credit card or PaybyPhone app.

The metered rates will be applied from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays and free on Sundays and holidays. No metering will occur on ADA stalls.

The decision was made in response to businesses at the Village noting that without time limits, some vehicles were tying up spaces for prolonged periods, adding to challenges for other patrons to find parking, the city stated in its initial announcement.

Money collected from the meters “will contribute to their maintenance and support parking management in the Village, including more than 500 free parking spaces in the Village at Chambers Bay and free parking along Bridgeport Way West,” the statement added.