HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, NJ – Shake Shack is a growing franchise in New Jersey that sells burgers, fried chicken sandwiches, shakes and more, but so far, there’s no drive-thru. The drive-thru concept is a new one for the company which opened its first drive-thru last week in Minnesota.
The blossoming national chain has 12 New Jersey locations, but the future location in Hasbrouck Heights will be different from the rest with a two-lane drive-thru service built around a 2,100 square foot design. The location will be at the location of the former Mt. Fuji restaurant, which is scheduled for demolition.
Shake Shack’s drive-thru concept was announced in January of this year and the company plans ten locations throughout the United States. An Orlando drive-through is expected to open in early 2022.
“We’re really excited about this growth,” a statement from the company said. “We’re looking forward to adding drive-thru as an option for our guests while continuing to delivery the uplifting experience and hospitality that Shake Shack is known for.”
The company weathered the pandemic, but the company realized it was missing a key component to drive sales when indoor dining was shut down in many parts of America, a drive-thru experience.
“Shake Shack is being a little more impacted than your average fast casual or certainly than the QSR just because of the kind of real estate we have,” CEO Randy Garutti said when he announced the expansion. “We have zero drive-thrus.”
The company is rebounding nicely since the pandemic shutdowns, Garutti said.
“We are pleased with the positive sales performance seen during the third quarter. This quarter marks our highest revenue quarter ever, with total revenues of $193.9 million and system-wide sales of $298.6 million. We saw benefits to our urban Shacks as more of our guests returned to offices, events, commuting and tourism-based locations. Our suburban Shacks continue to recover and, on average, perform above 2019 levels,” Randy Garutti, Chief Executive Officer of Shake Shack, stated. “As of fiscal September, we had retained nearly 80% of our digital channel sales, compared to fiscal January 2021, even as in-Shack sales return. Sales strength aside, we are not immune to the margin pressures that are still being felt across our industry. Inflation in commodity prices and investments across team members are pressuring our margins. We remain committed to investing in our team members to ensure we are retaining and developing the best talent in our industry, and these pressures are likely to persist for the foreseeable future. Our team is working harder than ever to take care of each other, bring hospitality to our neighborhoods, transform our Shack formats, invest in critical digital infrastructure, and uplift everyone in the Shack community along the way.”