How to Determine Your Shake Shack Wait Time
My 11:45 am trip to Shake Shack (on 44th and 8th Ave.) on Monday morning was smooth sailing (great for me!), but that relatively short line on the first real day of Midtown Lunch service wasn’t a very good indication of what the mob scene has now become. As the week has gone on reports have poured in between Noon and 2pm from the new Shack- and, no surprise, it can get pretty bad. It’s only a matter of time before they Disneyland the sidewalk up with a rope line and “Your Wait Time From Here…” signs. In the meantime, as a service to Midtown Lunch’ers, we have created a thorough guide to determining how long the wait is going to be.
So before you throw your arms up in disbelief and head to Schnipper’s, gauge how long the wait will really be after the jump…
Wait time to getting your food
Traditionally in Midtown burger spots get more and more popular as the week goes on. We’re kind of in new territory here with Midtown’s first Shake Shack, but if past indications hold- Monday and Tuesday will be the shortest line, and things will most likely peak on Thursdays. (Although Fridays could go either way. Summer hours mean less people grabbing a long lunch, but its proximity to Port Authority could mean big business as people leave the city. And of course, there is always the tourist factor.) Yesterday, the line bended back onto itself to avoid blocking the entrance to Lace Gentlemen’s Club (these two establishments really need to get together for some kind of promotion). If you’re behind the bend, you’re looking at 35+ minutes before you’re enjoying your burger, and hot dog, and fries, and custard. (50 minutes if the line bends around all the way back to 44th Street.)
If you’re right at Lace’s storefront, or forming the bend yourself, that’s a 35 minute wait to actually getting your food.
If you’re drooling over the custard schedule in the window, then you have another 30 minutes until lunchtime.
Once you hit the big menu in the window, you have 25 minutes left to go and should make use of that menu to start serious order preparation. Hear that tourists? Don’t hold up the line waiting until you get to the register to decide what you’re going to order.
If you’re at the threshold and can feel the air conditioning, you’re just 20 minutes away from the revered Shake Shack grub.
And don’t let the snaking line inside scare you, it moves quickly. About ten minutes… and the average wait time after ordering seems to be around 9 minutes.
So, what have we learned? Shake Shack, even in its first week, can definitely be done in an hour, as long as the line isn’t too long, you work pretty close, and your boss isn’t too strict. Then again, bringing Shake Shack burgers back for the whole office should get you excused from anything. (Except the anger of the customers waiting behind you.)
Related:
At Lunch Now: The Not Unexpected Madness of Shake Shack’s Opening Lunch
Your Guide to the Theater District Shake Shack Concretes
Posted by Jeremiah White at 11:30 am, July 16th, 2010 under Burger, Shake Shack.
18 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
18 Comments
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Pax or Europa
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No! Cafe Metro, of course.
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HAHA steve yu so funny!
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Lace and Shake Shack promotion? hows about a Concrete Lace?
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I shudder to think what would go into a Concrete Lace.
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the operative part of that phrase being “go into”
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Now that’s what I’m talking about. Good post.
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That location needs a Shack Cam. The one for the original location is a lifesaver if you have a fancy phone that can run those apps that the kids keep talking about…
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Nice post thanks for the info.
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Still waiting for one downtown!
But i agree with Sandra, a shack cam would be REALLY helpful! -
This location really needs a B line.
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If you work on the weekend. You definitely have to it this shake shack. Went to lunch yesterday around 130. I was on line for less then 15 min. I don’t think the tourists hit 8th ave at all.
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Hey ML Dumbasses:
Get drunk previous night
Skip breakfast
Show up when they open
Gorge
Repeat
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who’s george?
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wait…that said “george” a minute ago!
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Just got back from Shake Shack and I had come armed with a print out of the line wait time. The line was just out the door when I arrived. I spoke to a staffer handing out menus and showed him the picture. He said that must have been taken when there was only one register working. There are usually two registers now and the line moves about ten minutes faster than what’s pictured above. (or so he said.) He said he’s had people time it from the 25 min mark and they repeated said it took 15 minutes. 10 from the door. And most of the people who come in ordering for their whole office usually taper off around one.
He also said they’re putting in a cold drink line soon.-
Just an fyi… the guide is the time it will take to get your food (not order.) maybe that accounts for the 10 minute discrepency?
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Since there are many naysayers who refuse to wait 45min in line for a burger…
What MidtownLunch would you wait 45min in line to eat?