Shake Shack announced plans to expand from 329 corporate-owned restaurants to 1,500 across the United States while presenting at the 27th Annual ICR Conference in Orlando, Florida this week.
“Since the company’s founding in 2004, Shake Shack has been on a continuous journey of expanding how we bring Enlightened Hospitality to our guests and elevate our team members and communities,” said Shake Shack CEO Rob Lynch in a statement on behalf of the company. “We created our six 2025 Strategic Priorities to deliver on our strong opportunity, mission, and objective.
These include (1) developing a leadership culture, (2) optimizing restaurant operations, (3) increasing guest frequency to drive comp sales, (4) building and operating Shacks with best-in-class returns, (5) accelerating our Licensed business, and (6) investing in long-term strategic capabilities.
Using our internal data models and more than 20 years of opening and operating our Shacks with industry-leading returns, we now anticipate that our domestic Company-operated footprint will reach at least 1,500 Shacks.
“We are pleased to announce that we ended FY2024 with 329 Company-operated Shacks, resulting in a significant improvement in profitability and returns. However, we believe we are only getting started and see plenty of room for growth ahead. We are dedicated to providing the best fine casual experience for as many guests, team members, and communities as possible.
In doing so, we hope to make everyone in our company proud while also providing a significant financial benefit to our team members and shareholders.”
Shake Shack reported that its total annual revenue increased by 14.8% between the fourth quarter of 2023 and the fourth quarter of 2024.
The popular burger chain began as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in 2001, before becoming a permanent kiosk three years later, expanding its menu beyond hot dogs to include hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes.
Shake Shack is one of the fastest-growing food chains, having gone public 10 years after opening its first kiosk.
