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Just a week before its grand opening, the Shake Shack location in downtown Portland was vandalized, the Portland Police Bureau confirmed to KOIN 6. Earlier this week, officers responded to the location at 1016 Burnside Street where a window was smashed. It doesn’t appear the vandal was hungry for a burger as PPB says there’s no evidence anyone entered the business. “The safety of our team members and guests are top priority for us. While we’re saddened to see the vandalization of our Shack pre-opening, we are looking forward to opening and bringing our hospitality and dedicated guest experience to...

The Shake Shack chain has become synonymous with smashed burgers, crinkle-cut fries, and Martin's Potato Rolls. But the latter has become a cause for concern among customers after local Pennsylvania news site Billy Penn reported that the people behind the bun company have donated thousands of dollars to the front-running Republican candidate for Pennsylvania governor, Sen. Doug Mastriano. Mastriano is regarded as a far-right Republican and recently received President Trump's backing in the race for governor, according to NBC News. Billy Penn reported that he gained popularity as a Trump-supporting election denier with Christian nationalist beliefs. Mastriano was also subpoenaed...

Often lauded as the optimal bun for smashburgers, the squishy, yellow potato roll has been a holy grail for burger geeks around the country. The reigning champ among those buns has to be the one from Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe, a family-owned company based in Chambersburg, Penn. It catapulted to fame with the rise of Shake Shack, which uses its bread exclusively at its locations around the world. Locally, use of the Martin’s potato bun, at operations like Wesburger, Kowbird and Smish Smash, has signified chefs’ seriousness about their sandwiches.

A BLM activist has been charged over a huge fraud which is said to have included blowing a grant intended for young men at risk of violence on trips to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Shake Shack and a nail salon. She is accused of using much of the $1 million raised by her nonprofit Violence in Boston Inc for good causes. Her salary jumped from $25,000 in 2020 to $170,000 in 2021. Cannon-Grant - once named a Bostonian of the Year by the prestigious Boston Globe newspaper - was arrested at her spacious home last week. She appeared in a...

During a conference call with analysts last week, Shake Shack’s chief financial officer Katherine Fogerty said customers will be paying three to 3.5 percent more for their food in the fourth quarter of 2021. In December of last year, Shake Shack raised its prices two percent, which was followed by a ten percent increase this past spring. In February, the burger chain increased its delivery prices via third-party apps by five percent. According to Restaurant Business, Shake Shack’s restaurants in suburban locations in states like Texas, Oregon, and Indiana have not only returned to normal but are “above pre-pandemic levels”...

Danny Meyer: If you want to be unvaccinated, 'you can dine somewhere else' The policy will go into effect September 7. "We are requiring all guests to show proof they are fully vaccinated," a pop-up notice on the website said, adding, "Our teams are required to be fully vaccinated as well." Guests will be asked to bring their "physical Covid-19 vaccine card, your New York State Excelsior Pass, your relevant state-provided vaccine pass, or a photo of your vaccination card to share upon arrival," according to the hospitality group's website.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio held a press briefing on Thursday where he promoted a new effort between the city and Shake Shack to provide free food to those who have been vaccinated. De Blasio highlighted the deal by eating a Shake Shack meal, saying, “free fries when you get vaccinated.”

For years, Bryant Park Grill & Cafe in Midtown Manhattan has been one of the country’s top-grossing restaurants, the star property in Ark Restaurants’ portfolio of 20 restaurants across the United States. But what propelled it to the top has vanished. The tourists are gone, the office towers surrounding it are largely empty and the restaurant’s 1,000-seat dining room is closed. Instead, dinner is cooked and served on its patio, and the scaled-down restaurant brings in about $12,000 a day — an 85 percent plunge in revenue, its chief executive said. Five months into the pandemic, the drastic turn of...

In the heart of Manhattan, national chains including J.C. Penney, Kate Spade, Subway and Le Pain Quotidien have shuttered branches for good. Many other large brands, like Victoria’s Secret and the Gap, have kept their high-profile locations closed in Manhattan, while reopening in other states. Michael Weinstein, the chief executive of Ark Restaurants, said he will never open another restaurant in New York. Of Ark Restaurants’ five Manhattan restaurants, only two have reopened, while its properties in Florida — where the virus is far worse — have expanded outdoor seating with tents and tables into their parking lots, serving almost...

Shake Shack is returning a $10 million loan it received from the U.S. government under an emergency program that was touted as a way to help small businesses pay workers and keep their operations running during the coronavirus crisis. The burger chain was awarded the loan as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The $349 billion stimulus package, overseen by the Small Business Administration (SBA), ran out of funding last week. Over the last few days, there has been a growing backlash over the distribution of the funds. Several media outlets have revealed how large chunks of the package...

This looks bad for Shake Shack - and their burgers are great!

San Antonians will soon be able to binge on 800 calorie Shack Stacks and 380 calorie Shack-cago Dogs with the arrival of the city’s first Shake Shack restaurant, the company confirmed Thursday. The popular New York fast-casual chain plans to open its first San Antonio restaurant in late 2017, Shake Shack spokesman Adam Shapiro said in an email, declining further details. The restaurant will sit on the southwest corner of Loop 410 and San Pedro Avenue on the city’s North Side, across from North Star Mall, according to a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing. Construction is expected to...

The owner of a popular burger chain said he will stop customers from tipping his staff because the practice has a 'racist' history. Danner Meyer, the CEO of Shake Shack, revealed that tipping customers stems from the American Civil War when the government accepted a petition to allow restaurants not to pay its staff. To get around new slavery laws, customers were advised to leave a small payment for servers so that no-one could argue that they were enslaved. Most waiting staff at the time were African-American, Meyer said. Shake Shack is one of the most popular burger chains in...

President Barack Obama slides across a counter to pose for photos with staff following lunch at the Dupont Circle Shake Shack in Washington, D.C., May 16, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Stop the presses, Michelle Obama might have eaten a hamburger. The blogosphere erupted with criticism almost immediately after the Washington Post reported Monday that the first lady sat down at a newly opened Shake Shack in Washington D.C., where she ordered a ShackBurger, fries, a chocolate shake and a Diet Coke. According to the popular burger joint's website, that's a 1,556-calorie meal. (sic, actually it was 1700 calories.) Many critiqued the first lady's public display of Shake Shack love as she continues to advocate for her Let's Move! campaign, an initiative to eliminate childhood obesity. But even as the first...