The list of Warwick’s chain restaurants was shaken up Tuesday morning as the city welcomed its first Shake Shack.
The restaurant is located at 989 Centerville Road, in the same lot that …
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The list of Warwick’s chain restaurants was shaken up Tuesday morning as the city welcomed its first Shake Shack.
The restaurant is located at 989 Centerville Road, in the same lot that used to be a TGI Fridays. It’s the third Shake Shack located in Rhode Island, with locations already established in Providence and Cranston.
Warwick’s location is also the first in the state with a drive-thru, and one of only four in the northeastern U.S. with that feature, according to Shake Shack Regional Marketing Manager Joe Kaufman.
Kaufman, originally from New York City, said that Shake Shack had been a part of his life since the first one opened in Madison Square Park in the city in 2004.
According to Kaufman, the Warwick location had been in the works since February. He said that support from the city, members of the Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, City Councilman Tim Howe and Mayor Frank Picozzi, who were all in attendance at the ribbon-cutting, was critical in opening the location, which he said showed a lot of promise.
“Warwick is just a great area of opportunity, a great area for expansion, a place that can use a Shack, and here we are,” Kaufman said.
One dollar from each item was donated to Project Hand Up, a West Warwick-based charity that provides food to those in need, according to founder and President Coreen St. Jean.
A $6 donation to Project Hand Up will allow the donator to receive around $200 worth of groceries, she said.
Kaufman said that making sure to support local charities and communities is part of Shake Shack’s mission.
“Part of our mission is ‘Stand for something good,’” Kaufman said. “And obviously food insecurity is very important to us as a restaurant.”
The line to get into Shake Shack had begun to wrap around the building by 11 a.m., when it officially opened for business.
Shake Shack’s first customer was Nadine Johnson, who arrived half an hour before opening. Johnson said that she had heard about the opening two weeks ago, and that she was thrilled that Shake Shack opened a location only five minutes away from her home.
“It was just by chance [that I was first], because I didn’t want to wait out in the heat today,” Johnson said. “So I was just hoping that it wouldn’t be too bad in the line, and I got here at the perfect time.”
Kaufman said that he is looking forward to a successful summer season, and believed that Shake Shack’s first day in business was a great start towards it.
“We’re excited to be here,” Kaufman said. “We hope that first time Shackers, as well as people who love Shake Shack and are just thrilled to have one closer to home or work, come here. We’re just happy to expand our footprint in Rhode Island.”
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