Shake Shack opens first Canadian location in Toronto

Shake Shack’s world-famous crinkle-cut fries and smash burgers have lastly arrived in Canada.

The New York-based burger chain opened the doorways of its flagship Toronto location at 11 a.m. Thursday and followers of the model had been already in line to get a style.

“I’m able to dig in,” Abdulla, the primary visitor in line at 6 a.m., instructed CP24 after ordering his meals. “I am simply trying ahead to the style.”

Shake Shack is introducing numerous Canadian-specific sweets to the menu to mark their endeavour north of the border, together with objects just like the “Maple Salted Pretzel Shake” and “I Coronary heart Butter Tart Concrete.”

Michael Kark, president of worldwide licensing at Shake Shack, spoke to CP24 earlier than the doorways opened and mentioned the model had been eyeing a Canadian enlargement for a minimum of eight years.

“We’re simply pinching ourselves. We will’t imagine how many individuals are already right here ready in line for Shake Shack. This has been a very long time within the making,” he mentioned.

Shake Shack opens its first Canadian location in downtown Toronto on June 13, 2024.

Kark mentioned about 90 per cent of the menu is “precisely” as it could be if you happen to tried it in New York, or wherever else within the U.S. He mentioned the opposite 10 per cent is made up of things sourced from native purveyors, like Brodflour Bakery and ChocoSol, to provide the menu a Toronto twist.

Shake Shack takes over the house left by Adidas on the nook of one of many metropolis’s busiest intersections, close to the soon-to-be-renamed Yonge-Dundas Sq..

Kark mentioned whereas “it’s by no means straightforward” to lock down a spot in that location, the thrill of the downtown Toronto core reminds the model of its roots in NYC.

“With all of the power and the thrill that occurs right here at Yonge and Dundas… we really feel proper at residence in such a busy spot,” he mentioned.

The within of Shake Shack’s downtown Toronto location is proven on June 13, 2024. (CP24)