Shaftesbury, the real estate investment trust, has today announced that Shake Shack, the New York-based fast casual restaurant group, has taken a prime 4,500 sq ft site at Cambridge Circus, on the junction of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road in the heart of London’s West End.
The Cambridge Circus restaurant is a minutes’ walk from Tottenham Court Road station, which is set to become the busiest transport hub in the West End when the Elizabeth Line commences in late 2018. Cambridge Circus is a significant catalyst linking Seven Dials, Chinatown, Theatreland, Soho and Shaftesbury’s recently-completed Central Cross scheme.
Julia Wilkinson, Group Restaurant and Strategy Executive at Shaftesbury, said, “Shake Shack’s game-changing re-interpretation of a fast food classic already has a strong and loyal following in the UK, and we are pleased to welcome their flagship London restaurant to Cambridge Circus, an iconic location in the heart of the West End.
This new arrival is another example of restaurateurs and retailers clamouring for sites on our streets which will be major beneficiaries of expected footfall growth from the opening of the Elizabeth Line in around 500 days from now. With the axis of the West End tipping northwards, all our locations are within a short walk of the new major transport hubs at Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street.”
Starting life as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in Manhattan in 2001, Shake Shack now has restaurants in 12 countries and has been described as re-defining the fast-food experience, with an emphasis on community support, sustainability and an innovative approach to restaurant design. Menus are locally influenced and include “concretes” - frozen custard ice-cream, own label wines and beers alongside award winning burgers, flat-top dogs and crinkle-cut fries.
All sites have unique designs, giving each restaurant a hand-crafted look that is locally focused and reflective of the immediate community. Founder Danny Meyer of Manhattan based Union Square Hospitality Group is renowned as one of the most influential restaurateurs of the last two decades.