The opening of Shake Shack’s Newington location is part of the company’s mission to Stand for Something Good®. For every sandwich sold at the Newington location on Thursday, Shake Shack will donate $1 to Connecticut Foodshare, an organization dedicated to fighting hunger in the state. The company’s statement said it’s part of their “mission and vision of a thriving community free of hunger.”
Shake Shack serves “elevated versions of American classics using only the best ingredients,” according to the company. Shack opened in 2004 in NYC’s Madison Square Park; the company has expanded to over 520 locations. Shake Shack is commonly categorized with Panera and similar upscale chains as “fast casual” food, and in Connecticut most of its location serve affluent markets. Its Fairfield County outlets are in Darien and Westport, and it operates restaurants at Evergreen Walk in South Windsor as well as at Danbury Fair in Danbury. Its New Haven outlet is on the Green and only a couple of doors from The Shubert and the Yale campus.
When Shake Shack built a roughly 2,900-square-foot outlet at West Hartford’s Corbin’s Corner in 2018, the opening day crowds were big. That location has remained busy, and every holiday season maintains a lengthy line to order — as well as a packed dining room.
