Soon after reporting strong first-quarter results, Shake Shack reopened its flagship New York City store in Madison Square Park Wednesday, after a seven-month renovation process.
Those renovations, which included upgrades to the unit’s interior and exterior, were designed to position the chain’s original location for the future. “When Shake Shack renewed our lease with the city of New York, we committed to a complete renovation to restore the original Shack and prepare for the decade to come,” Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti said in a statement.
Shake Shack’s seven Manhattan locations have been central to the chain’s early-stage success, Forbes reports, adding that average unit volumes for Manhattan locations ($7.4 million) were nearly twice as large as its other restaurants ($3.8 million) when the chain filed for an IPO in late 2014.
Still, the company has implied that the reopening of the Madison Square Park location could cannibalize sales at other Manhattan locations that are part of its comp base, which performed better in Q1 as a result of the Madison Square Park closure.
To commemorate the reopening, the chain will be offering the ParkBurger, which features raw cow’s milk cheese sauce and applewood-smoked bacon, exclusively at its Madison Square Park restaurant.
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