Shake Shack Plans To Open 80 New Locations In 2024
Burger chains are growing at a breakneck speed as some brands plan to open dozens or even hundreds of new restaurants this year. And in great news for fans smash burgers, Shake Shack has joined the list of fast-growing chains after previewing plans to expand aggressively in 2024.
Shake Shack released its latest quarterly earnings results on May 2, reporting a 1.6% increase in same-store sales, a 12.3% increase ($443.3 million) in system-wide sales, and a 14.7% increase ($290.5 million) in total revenue. These positive results made Shack Shack somewhat of an outlier in the restaurant industry last quarter—other major chains like McDonald's, Starbucks, and KFC recently reported negative or lower-than-expected sales in the first few months of the year.
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Looking forward to the rest of the year, Shake Shack plans to build on its strong momentum with a slew of new restaurant openings. During a May 2 earnings call where Shake Shack discussed its quarterly earnings with investors, company executives previewed plans to open around 80 new stores in 2024.
Outgoing CEO Randy Garutti said these planned openings will grow the chain's footprint by about 15%. Customers can also expect to see plenty of additional Shake Shack expansion in the years to come.
"We are building a robust pipeline of growth for the coming years," Garutti said.
Shake Shack opened eight new restaurants in the first quarter of the year, including in North Brunswick, N.J., and the Chicago suburb of Bloomingdale. The North Brunswick and Bloomingdale locations were the first drive-thru Shake Shack stores to debut in New Jersey and Illinois.
Other new openings in 2024 will include the chain's first-ever Pittsburgh location; its first desert location in El Paseo, Calif.; and its second Orange County location in Costa Mesa, Calif. The Costa Mesa location will open on May 9, but more details on opening dates for the other stores are still pending. Shake Shack ended the first quarter of the year with 525 locations worldwide, per QSR Magazine.
Rapid growth is just one major development for the chain this year. The company has been working to improve its customer experience with speedier service, Garutti said. Shake Shack's restaurants are already making significant progress on this effort, with more than half of its locations reducing service times by at least 15 seconds in the first quarter compared to a year prior.
Shake Shack will also ramp up marketing to grow sales and awareness of its brand. Additionally, it plans to roll out more limited-time menu items for summer following the success of its limited-edition Korean barbecue menu, which launched in January and is still available now.
"I'm really excited to see our strategic plan continue to drive the evolution of Shake Shack," Garutti said.
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