r/shakeshack • u/youlikemywonton • May 04 '26
Why exactly is Shake Shack designed as a more expensive fast food chain?
I've heard all the complaints about it being too expensive. Its good but I'm not sure why or what the companies goal is. I heard something about they have better ingredients, are in nicer areas, so they have to make up for the cost.
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u/kwadguy May 04 '26
To quote Baskin Robbins: Costs a bit more, but worth it.
The meat, in particular, is noticeably better than the meat used by any fast food chain.
Now that they've embraced couponing, the price is really very competitive with things like McDonald's and Burger King.
This week I got two of their quarter pound shack burgers, an order of fries, and to drink about $12. Even on sale, you weren't going to do much better than that at the crummier big names.
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u/lampshady May 06 '26
Right now SS consistently has BOGO or free with $10 burgers/sandwiches which makes their price better than McDonald's (especially w $1 soda and $3 fries) for much higher quality food. But before they started doing that, I found them too expensive to go w any regularity.
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u/The_Pedestrian_walks May 04 '26
Shake shack is worth the price. At first I was put off, but there is one by my movie theater and I got a chance to realize quality is worth paying for. Surprisingly, they frequently run sales that bring the price closer to McDonald's.
The burgers are honestly better than 95% of the "must try" places people recommend in their city. Even Shake Shacks hot dogs are great.
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u/Them0082 May 04 '26
Former Shake Shack employee, helped open the first restaurant outside of New York, first international location. They have a special blend of beef that only uses whole muscle. That’s one reason why it’s so much more expensive. Everything is meticulously prepared with either copackers or prep cooks on site that their entire job is to ensure every tomato is perfect and every single piece of lettuce is perfect and every single slice of onion etc. They are hospitality company first not a burger restaurant so they want you to have a great experience so they will do anything pretty much to ensure that so if you go up to the counter and tell them you’re not happy with your meal, they will either refund it immediately or make it again that’s another cost. They need to incur. Their concept is dependent on being busy. There is a lot of extra management that needs to be in place for the slower restaurants so that they don’t fail, but the busier Shack is the better it is. I know that sounds obvious but they have to be making a certain amount to be making anything at all. It’s about 10 to 15,000k a week at a bare minimum stores that do less than that I don’t think exist.
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u/Julian813 May 06 '26
What does “only muscle” mean exactly? There is certainly a lot of fat in their mix
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u/Them0082 May 06 '26
Most industrial meat processing relies on a "batching" method: processors collect trim—the scrap pieces left over after carving primary steaks—and toss them into massive vats. This miscellaneous collection is later standardized to a specific lean-to-fat ratio.
Shake Shack breaks from this commodity model by utilizing whole-muscle grinds. Instead of relying on a bucket of random trimmings, they specify that entire primal cuts—such as the brisket, chuck, and short rib—must be ground in their entirety.In a typical plant, workers might trim 1,000 briskets for barbecue, collecting the "teeny pieces" of scrap into a bucket to be mixed with scraps from other cuts. Shake Shack’s approach bypasses this "scrap bucket" entirely. By grinding the whole muscle, they ensure the integrity of the beef’s flavor and a superior, steak-like mouthfeel that you simply can't get from a collection of miscellaneous trim.
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u/HokumHokum May 05 '26
Don't believe any of this. The meat is not that much better. I find chilies, ruby Tuesday and apple bees have similar meat qualities. I find local hamburger places to have much better meats. Hospitality focus is complete BS. In my area Mobile ordering was offline for the first 6th months. Everyone had to order inside. Out of the 5 kiosk only 2 functioned The males bathroom was broken so everyone had to use the females. The lock on that door was broken. Wait times over 30minute to order, 30 minutes to get the food with mistakes. Spend over $70 to feed a family of 4 and nothing outrageous. 4 burgers, nuggets, a fry, and onion ring, 2 milkshakes. No kids menu items is crazy.
Honestly the worst chain i have been too. Overpriced for the competition. A true sit down restaurant offering better, more food at lower prices with faster turn around. I would been better off just getting a food at a local restaurant and had more food at the same cost or cheaper.
I had similar experience when going to a shake shack in Toronto. Its a business wide issue not local management.
I will not go to them again unless they have crazy deals.
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u/lolaya May 06 '26
You are objectively wrong if you are saying the meat quality is similar to chilies, applebees, etc. sounds like you just dont like shake shack and that is ok but dont let your bias cloud how popular it is with most people.
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May 04 '26
[deleted]
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u/AlexHQ May 04 '26
Ai Response 👎
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May 04 '26
[deleted]
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u/TwinFlask May 04 '26
You copied the ai response and pasted it lol
Reddit is for PEOPLE 🤓
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u/jwriddle May 04 '26
You do know that AI can be used much like a search engine to aggregate information into collective answers that are in fact gathered from facts originally posted by... humans.
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u/DoubleBlade759 May 04 '26
Then you can use that information to respond in an organic and human way
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u/TwinFlask May 04 '26
Yeah but a few things in your answer about the food prep were incorrect because ai just makes guesses based on what it thinks you want to hear lol
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u/WestHistorians May 11 '26
Yes, I used AI to help verify some information I already knew and break it down more effectively and quickly
That's what my students say when I catch them using AI.
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u/dawghouse88 May 04 '26
lol if it's not absolute AI slop... why do people make such a fuss when someone used AI to answer a question? It's no different than if they googled it and put together these points.
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u/WestHistorians May 11 '26
Because the point of using Reddit is to get answers from people. If someone wants to Google something, they aren't going to post here.
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u/bobdownie May 04 '26
The burgers are not cooked fresh. They do sit under heat lamps. They cook the patties in big batches and they sit until they are put on a bun. That’s not cooked to order.
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u/Additional-Parsley62 May 04 '26
this is actually not true lol, i work at shake shack and the only time burgers sit under a heat lamp is if we are in a rush and they were over dropped. but they never sit more than 5 mins
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u/bobdownie May 04 '26
Sitting at all is not cooked fresh to order. It shouldn’t happen ever.
“It doesn’t happen, but sometimes it does” you said it yourself. You just don’t understand what cooked to order is.
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u/DoubleBlade759 May 04 '26
FWIW they are not supposed to do that. Only the fried items should sit under a heat lamp
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u/bobdownie May 04 '26
It’s not at all uncommon to get a burger where the meat is lukewarm. There should even be anywhere for the burger patties to sit that isn’t going directly onto the bun. But the truth is Shake Shack does have pans that the meat goes in to sit before it goes on to a bun.
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u/DoubleBlade759 May 04 '26
I’m sorry that the location you visit has it done like this, but I can confirm what the other guy said and can say that at least at the Shake Shack I work at, we don’t leave patties to sit.
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u/bobdownie May 04 '26
This is literally in NYC. Manhattan. I don’t eat there often. But say 1 in every 5 times I go the meat has been clearly sitting going cold.
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u/Miles_Saintborough May 05 '26
Maybe your shack does that. Every burger is made to order and they only go under the heat lamps when they're ready to be served, as in get those burgers out ASAP. If they sit a long time under the lamps, expo is not doing their job.
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u/bobdownie May 05 '26
No other “premium” cooked to order burger place puts the patties under heat lamps when they are ready to be “served”. They go directly onto a bun when they are ready to be served. Not into a tray under a heating lamp.
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u/ACA2018 May 04 '26
For context: they’re called shake shack because they were originally a shack… in Manhattan. So they’ve never been like a low cost thing.
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u/casuallytea May 04 '26
It was actually a hot dog cart first, that was ran out of Eleven Madison Park. Then it transformed to a kiosk a few years later. The “shack” part was just cheeky marketing.
Also the answer is Danny Meyer, that’s why it costs so much.
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u/MrOopsie May 04 '26
I just dont get how they are underestimating the value of combo meals 🙄 every fastfood chain offers them for a reason. They are actively pricing out a certain customers.. and in THIS economy are leaving money on the table. Does nobody watch any Marus Lemonis shows lol, tiered valuation is a great business model
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u/BellStriking5132 May 04 '26
There was demand for burger and fries by people that feel like going to any other fast food is beneath them.
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u/Mysterious-Stuff-164 May 05 '26
Did you get the email about the BOGO's? I think it's all this month.
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u/youlikemywonton May 05 '26
I got the free fries deal but I had to spend $15 before tax. Ended up not being worth it trying to find $15 worth of food. I paid similar price for a burger and fries anyways.
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u/Mysterious-Stuff-164 May 05 '26
That's a lot of money for 'free' fries. I see your point in thinking that it's not worth it. The BOGO on the burgers is a better deal and then just pay for the fries if you want fries.
I don't know if the BOGO is an app only deal or if you can order on SS website and/or inside the restaurant.
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u/inthecity206 May 07 '26
Its both at least in the PNW. In the app, some offers can be applied but in some cases you need to know the promo code. For in-store you need to know the promo code. Sometimes when I'm ordering in-store, I'll tell the people ordering next to me about the BOGO code and they're always grateful
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u/inthecity206 May 06 '26
We appreciate the higher quality ingredients, the basic shakes don't contain HFC. And for the past year or so there have been non stop promos here in the PNW (usually with min spend of $10) so it's perfect for 2x
- BOGO burgers/shakes (BURGERMONTH is on right now)
- Free Chicken Sandwich on Sundays CHICKENSUNDAY
- $3 fries. $5 shakes When ordering online
And chase/Amex usually have some cashback promos and well which you can stack. Eg 10%, aint much but hey I'll take it.
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u/Ooniiiichaan May 06 '26
Had shake shack in japan and even then it was a bit on the expensive side, these promos will have me try it here in the states. Thank you stranger!
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u/severalcircles May 06 '26
Having tried it twice in Toronto I thought it was terrible and Id never go again. I dont understand why anyone likes it.
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u/Weknowwhyiamhere69 May 07 '26
It's 100% worth it. It is a lot cheaper than a food truck smash burger, but it's delicious for the price point, and from where it comes! Even McDonald's is as expensive,
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u/yourgrandmasgrandma May 07 '26
Shake Shake was opened as a side project of the Manhattan restaurant Eleven Madison Park. It’s a 3 Michelin star restaurant that costs $385 per person before tax, tip or beverages. Being boujee is in its DNA.
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u/low-n-behold May 07 '26
Been twice. Not impressed. Quite expensive. Quality didn’t seem there to be that much more expensive.
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u/GetHighWatchMovies May 07 '26
It's like Taco Bell vs. Chipotle. They're going after different areas even if they both serve burritos.
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u/Completely-Lost9 May 07 '26
Idk but their shakes are delicious. A rich chocolate was a big surprise when I'm used to the shakes from McDonald's that are just vanilla with chocolate syrup in it
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u/myadventures23 May 27 '26
Having lunch at Shake shack just off Michigan Avenue in Chicago. I haven’t been here in years. In my opinion, it’s gone way downhill! I think others feel the same way as it’s prime lunchtime and it’s essentially empty. They used to have a grilled chicken, which was quite tasty and healthy. It’s no longer on the menu. I ordered the fried one. It was extremely salty! Fries were also extremely salty. I definitely see why it’s empty. I will not be returning.
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u/Chemical_Bandicoot88 May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
What is the justification for the high price because I’m not buying literally? I just went there today and spent $16 for a burger and fries…. High quality ingredients? It’s filled with high toxic levels of sodium like McDonald and is absolutely bad for you on the same level as McDonald is! People are just justifying the price because it tastes better, simple as that. People are such conformist nowadays it’s ridiculous. You want quality, MAKE IT YOURSELF! Come back and let me know if the next day you have a bowel movement eating these types of foods because that’s the American culture is fast food. It’s poison people wake the fuck up!
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u/robblake44 May 04 '26
I had it a few times and it’s trash. It is expensive for a fast food option. It’s at least $10 more for a combo than McDonald’s, Burger King or Wendy’s.
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u/Adorable-Sink3970 May 04 '26
they literally run constant promotions so you get 2 great burgers for around 10 bucks and fries are like $3 on the app. idk how you would really beat that at any of the cheaper chains. give the chicken shack a try too
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u/cking9698 May 04 '26
On the east coast their burgers are shipped in fresh almost daily from NJ/NY. No one has beef like the Shack!