Shake Shack

Workforce

Overtime costs surge for restaurants as fewer workers shoulder the workload

Employers are also finding that more hours are needed because new hires aren't as efficient.

Financing

Shake Shack to raise prices again after omicron takes its toll

The fast-casual burger brand said there is too much uncertainty to predict when it might return to pre-pandemic sales trends.

The latest COVID surge has meant reduced sales for the fast casual in recent weeks as it is forced to temporarily close restaurants and limit store hours.

Black truffles, cherry peppers, avocado and more are helping the fast casual drive check averages even as margins get hit by soaring labor, food and supply costs.

The fast casual, which opens its first-ever drive-thru next month, continues to build out its digital channels and other ordering options after the pandemic upended its dine-in-focused operating model.

The fast casual’s same-store sales remained down significantly over 2019, but have improved in October, with suburban restaurants soaring above all others.

The four-day Snap Shack activation will feature augmented reality, custom merchandise and other interactive marketing tie-ins.

The fast-casual burger chain said it will open its first drive-thru in Maple Grove, Minn., instead of Orlando, as originally planned. Shake Shack said it intends to have 10 drive-thrus by the end of 2022.

The fast casual had lauded the experiment as a valuable recruitment and retention tool, but blamed COVID for the need to put the program on hold.

Even as other chains fully move on from the pandemic, the burger-and-shake concept continues to face some hurdles.

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