Shake Shack Will Again Raise Prices Due to Inflation

The popular burger chain Shake Shack announced it will be implementing yet another price hike in 2021 to fight inflation.

During a conference call with analysts last week, Shake Shack’s chief financial officer Katherine Fogerty said customers will be paying three to 3.5 percent more for their food in the fourth quarter of 2021.

“This is higher than the approximately 2% menu price we have historically taken at the end of most calendar years, and we’ll be evaluating the need for further price increases that might go into effect in 2022,” Fogerty said, as reported by Eat This, Not That.

Shutdowns and social distancing measures due to the coronavirus have had a crushing effect on Shake Shack’s business in urban areas.

“The chain’s suburban locations are gaining post-pandemic momentum (especially in Texas), but its urban restaurants, like the iconic locations in New York City and Chicago, are struggling without their core customers: office workers and tourists,” reported the outlet.

CEO Randy Garutti expressed optimism that Shake Shack’s business will increase as the company reopens several key locations, such as Union Station in Washington, DC, and New York City’s Grand Central Terminal.

“We expect that they’re going to take some time to recover,” said CEO Randy Garutti of the recently reopened Shake Shacks. “They’ll probably weigh on results in the interim, but it was important to get them reopened and operating as we head into the fall and winter.”

In December of last year, Shake Shack raised its prices two percent, which was followed by a ten percent increase this past spring. In February, the burger chain increased its delivery prices via third-party apps by five percent.

According to Restaurant Business, Shake Shack’s restaurants in suburban locations in states like Texas, Oregon, and Indiana have not only returned to normal but are “above pre-pandemic levels” in terms of sales. Such increases, however, will not be enough to save Shake Shack from its economic troubles.

“Recovery in our urban Shacks still presents our greatest opportunity to recapture sales,” Garutti said.

As the New York Post reported in July, inflation surged throughout the month of June as consumer prices jumped 5.4 percent — the largest increase since 2008.