Just in from the Shake Shack: “We told you we’d share opening day news the second we knew, and here we are: Our official opening day for the Upper West Side Shake Shack is this Monday, 10/20. Shack’s hours on the Upper West Side will be in flux for the first few weeks (11:00 AM - 9:00 PM), but once the Shack is really shakin’, it will be open seven days a week from 11 AM - 11 PM. Our site will keep tabs on any hour changes. Depending on how practice sessions go, Shack may open it’s [sic] doors to the neighborhood a little sooner than Monday. But the official (read: definite) opening is Monday at 11:00 AM. Our full release will follow later this afternoon.”
October 17, 2008 New York - Shake Shack, a modern day “roadside” burger stand acclaimed for its delicious burgers, hot dogs, frozen custard, beer, wine and more, is thrilled to debut its second location on the Upper West Side of Manhattan! As of Monday, October 20th, the second Shake Shack will officially open. This opening marks the first time in Union Square Hospitality Group’s (USHG) history that it has expanded one of its restaurants. The new Shake Shack enjoys a sweet location - across from the American Museum of Natural History and a block from Central Park, at 366 Columbus Avenue, on the northwest corner of 77th Street and Columbus Avenue.
Like the original in Madison Square Park, the Upper West Side Shake Shack was designed by Denise M.C. Lee and James Wines of SITE Environmental Design. Their challenge was to take an existing restaurant space (which formerly housed Jacques-Imo’s, and before that the Museum Cafe) and to transform it into the feeling of an urban version of a roadside shack. Lee and Wines succeeded by creating the sensation of having parked Shake Shack inside the original space, incorporating existing historic design elements of brick walls, cast iron columns and beams, and adding concrete floors. To minimize Shake Shack’s environmental footprint, SITE introduced sustainable materials into the new location through Versaroc wainscot (a cement-bonded wood fiberboard) and wheatboard tables. The design of the new Shack is meant to bring the outside in, with Shake Shack’s iconic lettered awning breaking through its sidewalk cafe. Though this Shake Shack is on the avenue, the design allows guests to feel a strong connection and harmony with Theodore Roosevelt Park, whose light and lush greenery becomes part of the Shack experience.
Guests will have the choice of eating inside all year round - either in the glass-enclosed sidewalk cafe (which seats 34) or in the Shack’s “Rec Room” (which seats 38), located on the lower level - or they are welcome to take away their Shack fare to enjoy on nearby park benches. Beginning in mid-November, the “Rec Room” will be available for private parties.
The Upper West Side menu features all the original Shack favorites, plus a selection of concretes geared towards Shack’s new neighborhood: Shacky Road (Chocolate custard, Valrhona chocolate crunchies, marshmallow and almond), Upper West Slide (Vanilla custard, strawberry puree, fresh banana and shortbread cookie), and Natural History “Crunch-stellation” (Vanilla custard, malt, Valrhona chocolate crunchies, caramel and hot fudge), a portion of whose proceeds will support the American Museum of Natural History. An expanded beverage menu includes Abita Root Beer on tap, Brooklyn Brewery’s Shackmeister Ale, local seasonal draught beer and a great value wine list featuring Shack Chard and Shack Shiraz, two new wines blended just for Shake Shack by Marquis Philips. For the Upper West Side location, a “C-line” will allow guests to fast track their orders for all cold items, including take-away pints of Shake Shack’s dense, creamy frozen custard.
Shake Shack’s hours on the Upper West Side will be in flux for the first few weeks, but once the Shack is really shakin’, it will be open seven days a week from 11 AM - 11 PM.
Upper West Side: 366 Columbus Avenue, Northwest corner of 77th St. & Columbus Ave.
