Watertown Is Getting a Shake Shack

Watertown is officially getting a Shake Shack, as announced today by Boylston Properties and the Wilder Companies, the firms behind the Arsenal Yards development, where the burger chain will open. By 2020, Arsenal Yards is expected to span more than one million square feet and, in addition to the forthcoming Shake Shack, will include retail and office space as well as a hotel and apartments. City Works Eatery & Pour House, a small national chain of pubs, is also slated to open there.

This will be Shake Shack’s sixth location in Massachusetts. The chain crossed the 100-location threshold back in the summer of 2016 when it opened its Seaport District location, three years after making its Massachusetts debut in Chestnut Hill. It’s also open on Boston’s Newbury Street, in Cambridge’s Harvard Square, and at Legacy Place in Dedham.

Upon opening the Seaport location, Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer gushed about his love for the Boston dining scene.

“I’ve eaten in Chinatown and been very happy,” Meyer told Eater at the time. “I love Eastern Standard — it’s one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. What a great guy Garrett Harker is. I will tell you, he’s one of my inspirations in this entire industry. I love Barbara Lynch’s restaurants; Sportello is one of my favorites. And I just had a fantastic BLT this afternoon at Flour Bakery.”

All of that fondness made expanding his business to Boston a no-brainer.

“Shake Shack has always looked for cities outside of New York where we love to be,” said Meyer. “And cities that care about food. We don’t need another burger in any city. Every city we’ve ever met already has its fair share of burgers, so we want to go to a city that says, ‘Yes, but we don’t have Shake Shack.’ That’s what we were hearing from Boston.”

The Watertown location will feature all of the favorites from Shake Shack’s other locations — that classic burger, and those crinkle-cut fries, for example — and will also feature frozen custards made in conjunction with local businesses. A cut of the proceeds from the custards will go to local Watertown charities.

“We’re thrilled to bring Shake Shack to Arsenal Yards,” said Andrew McCaughan, vice president of development at Shake Shack, via press release. “East End Watertown is a unique, culturally rich community that holds tremendous potential for continued growth. We couldn’t be more excited to move into the neighborhood.”

Expect to see Shake Shack open in Watertown sometime in 2019.

Prellwitz Chilinski Associates

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