Dive Brief:
- Shake Shack will open 10 locations inside casinos through a partnership with PENN Entertainment, the companies said in a Wednesday press release.
- The first restaurants are expected to open in 2026 at the Hollywood Casino Toledo in Ohio and River City Casino in St. Louis, Missouri.
- The partnership will greatly expand the chain’s casino footprint. Shake Shack has three open casino locations at Encore Casino in Everett, Massachusetts, MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland and NYN Hotel in Las Vegas.
Dive Insight:
This casino expansion aligns with the company’s plan to grow its licensed business globally alongside its plan to reach 1,500 company-operated locations over time. Shake Shack is also exploring small-format locations and expanding into suburban locations with drive-thrus.
“We continue to explore flexible formats that allow us to expand the Shake Shack brand into new regions of the U.S.,” Michael Kark, Shake Shack’s president of global licensing, said in a statement.
Shake Shack expects to open 35 to 40 licensed locations this year, including non-traditional domestic locations, and it opened seven such locations globally, including during Q1 2025, according to the chain’s Q1 2025 shareholder letter. New licensed locations in North America and EMEA are producing strong sales performances. As of Q1 2025, Shake Shack has 256 locations operated by licensed partners in 20 markets generating $179.6 million in sales, up 10% from the year-ago quarter.
Other licensing deals include a partnership with Delta to serve Shake Shack on domestic flights offering meals to first class passengers. It currently offers pre-selection on qualifying domestic flights from Boston-Logan International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, New York-LaGuardia and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
