Shake Shack opens in Towson

By Madeline Stewart
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer

The fast-casual restaurant chain Shake Shack opened its newest location in Towson on Saturday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that drew Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski and other local officials.

“In the midst of the pandemic, it symbolizes that the rebirth and the reinvestment in Towson is still ongoing,” Olszewski said, “and having such a prominent brand name right in Circle East in Towson right on the corner sends a really strong signal that Baltimore County is a place where people want to do business and can be successful even during very challenging times.”

Olszewski was flanked by Councilman David Marks and Yara Cheikh, a representative for the new business’s local charity partner Student Support Network.

The sixth Shake Shack in Maryland and the first in Baltimore County, the Towson location at 1 East Joppa Rd., Suite 100, is part of a larger revitalization of the former Hutzler’s Department Store site in the Circle East Development.

Shake Shack was founded in 2001 as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in New York City, and first opened as a permanent restaurant in 2004. The restaurant is known for its burgers, fries and milkshakes.

Company officials stressed the chain’s commitment to the communities the businesses are active in. Each Shake Shack location partners with a local charity to donate 5% of sales from their signature concrete shakes. A dollar from each sale on opening day was donated to Student Support Network, a Baltimore County-based charity that distributes food, toiletries, and other essential supplies to 5,000 students and families in need every week.

Opening amid the coronavirus pandemic didn’t dampen spirits as the restaurant was alive with excitement in the minutes preceding the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Staff cheered and chanted together in anticipation for the first shift serving customers.

The staff was carefully handpicked from a large number of applicants. Bob Lopes, general manager of the Towson and Columbia locations, said the restaurant received  900 applications and hired only 45 people, half of 1% of applicants.

On Saturday, burgers, chicken, fries and shakes were available for take-out with dine-in seating to open at a later date, Lopes said. The restaurant features a walk-up, take-out window on Joppa Road.

Lopes said officials anticipate the famous chain doing especially well located in the heart of the bustling college town. He acknowledged that the Shake Shack chain has many dedicated fans wherever a new location opens.

“I always say that if we opened in the Arctic Circle, we’d have a line outside the door on Saturdays— we just have a cult-like following,” Lopes joked.

Both Lopes and Marks noted that local college students are a crucial demographics in Towson and pointed to the fall when most in-person classes are expected to begin.

Shake Shack won’t be the only change to Towson that will greet students returning, officials said. The Towson Circulator, a free shuttle serving the Towson area, is expected to begin service by the fall.

“I’m really looking forward to this fall because once students return, and the Circulator is up, this place is really going to be alive. We just need to get through another couple months,” Marks said.