Shake Shack facts for kids
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Original Shake Shack located in Madison Square Park
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| Traded as |
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| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Fast casual |
| Founded | July 2004, in New York City, United States |
| Founder | Danny Meyer |
| Headquarters | New York City, United States |
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Number of locations
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Areas served
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Key people
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| Products | Hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, chicken, milkshakes, custards, beer, wine |
| Revenue |  US$459.31 million (2018) |
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Operating income
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 US$31.71 million (2018) |
| US$15.18 million (2018) |
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| Total assets | US$433.50 million (2018) |
| Total equity | US$433.51 million (2018) |
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Number of employees
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6,101 (2018) |
Shake Shack is a popular American restaurant chain. It started in New York City and is known for its tasty burgers, hot dogs, fries, and milkshakes. It's a "fast casual" restaurant, which means it's quicker than a fancy sit-down place but offers higher quality food than traditional fast food.
Shake Shack began as a small hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in 2001. It quickly became very popular. By 2004, it opened a permanent spot in the park. Since then, it has grown into a big company with over 400 locations around the world. In 2015, Shake Shack became a public company, meaning its shares could be bought and sold by anyone.
Contents
How Shake Shack Started
From Hot Dog Cart to Restaurant
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In the year 2000, Madison Square Park in New York City was being rebuilt. A restaurant owner named Danny Meyer helped with this project. His team set up a hot dog cart in the park. This cart became a huge hit with people visiting the park.
Because the hot dog cart was so successful, the city decided to open a permanent restaurant in the park. Danny Meyer presented his idea, and the first Shake Shack opened in July 2004. At first, it was only meant to be one special restaurant for New York City. But it became so popular that the company realized it could open more locations.
Shake Shack has grown a lot since then. Its restaurants make a lot of money, even more than many other big fast-food chains. Sometimes, at the original park location, people wait in line for over an hour to get their food!
Growing Bigger
Expanding Across the United States
In June 2010, Shake Shack opened its first restaurant outside New York City. This new location was in Miami Beach, Florida. After that, more Shake Shacks opened in different parts of New York City. One opened in the Theater District, and another on the Upper East Side. The Upper East Side location helped make that shopping area better.
Shake Shack also opened a restaurant in Grand Central Terminal, a famous train station in New York City. This location opened in October 2013. In May 2013, the first Shake Shack at an airport opened in JFK Airport's Terminal 4.
By August 2014, Shake Shack had opened restaurants in many states across the U.S. These included California, Florida, Illinois, Texas, and more.
Going Global
Shake Shack started opening restaurants in other countries in April 2011. The first international location was in Dubai. Soon after, another opened in Kuwait. In mid-2013, the first European Shake Shack opened in London, United Kingdom. As of 2024, there are 16 locations in the UK.
Shake Shack has continued to expand worldwide.
- In 2015, it opened its first store in Tokyo, Japan. As of 2024, Japan has 14 stores.
- In June 2016, it opened in Korea near Gangnam Station. As of 2024, Korea has 26 stores.
- In October 2018, Shake Shack announced it would open in Singapore. As of 2021, there are eight locations there.
- In June 2019, Shake Shack opened in Mexico City. It was so popular that people waited about two hours on opening day! By the end of 2024, Mexico has 18 locations.
- In January 2022, Shake Shack announced plans to open 10 locations in Malaysia over 10 years. The first one opened in April 2024 in Kuala Lumpur.
- In March 2023, Shake Shack launched in Thailand. The first branch opened in Bangkok and plans to expand to about 15 branches by 2032.
- In April 2023, Shake Shack announced it would open in Israel, with the first one opening in February 2024.
- In March 2023, Shake Shack announced it would expand into Canada. The first Canadian location opened in June 2024 in Toronto. They plan to open 35 locations by 2035.
Becoming a Public Company
In January 2015, Shake Shack decided to sell shares of its company to the public for the first time. This is called an Initial Public Offering (IPO). The first price for a share was $21, but it quickly jumped to $47 on the first day of trading! This showed how excited people were about the company.
Shake Shack plans to keep opening many new restaurants. They aim to open at least 14 new stores each year. In 2016, Shake Shack started serving chicken sandwiches across all its U.S. locations.
In August 2016, Shake Shack started offering room service at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel. This was the first hotel in America to offer Shake Shack food right to your room!
In March 2024, Rob Lynch became the new CEO of Shake Shack.
Helping During Difficult Times
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Shake Shack received some financial help from a government program. This program was designed to help businesses keep their employees. However, Shake Shack later decided to return the money. The CEO, Randy Garutti, said they wanted to make sure the funds went to smaller restaurants that needed the help the most.
Other Fun Things Shake Shack Does
Shake Shack often takes part in food festivals like EEEEEATSCON. Their Culinary Director, Mark Rosati, creates special burgers and shakes for these events. He has worked with other local restaurants to make unique food items. For example, he once created a special burger with a unique sauce and caramelized onions.
The company also sells cool merchandise, like T-shirts and sunglasses, called Shack Swag.
What's on the Menu?
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Shake Shack is famous for its delicious milkshakes, which many people say are some of the best. They also sell:
- Hamburgers (like the famous ShackBurger)
- Chicken burgers
- Hot dogs
- Crinkle-cut french fries
- Frozen custards (a type of ice cream)
- Beer and wine (for adults)
The ShackBurger is their most well-known item. It comes with a beef patty, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and their special "Shack Sauce." When Shake Shack opens in a new city, they often add local flavors to their drink menu.
See also
- List of frozen custard companies
- List of hamburger restaurants
- List of hot dog restaurants
