The Shake Shack on Columbus Avenue and 77th Street reopened on Thursday after being closed for almost two months, and it has some new features that may even make the lines shorter.
The restaurant added several tablets that allow people to order their food digitally instead of waiting until they get to the head of the line. There’s also a section for picking up orders that customers make online in advance of arriving.
The interior also looks more bright and airy, with Keith Haring-style drawings and walls covered in light wood.
The staff was also making buttons for kids on Thursday. Gotta turn that next generation into walking Shake Shack billboards!
Photos by Lisa Kava.
Love that first picture with the staff member talking to the kid.
Thanks for the update. Hard to tell – is there more seating? In the summer it isn’t a huge problem but in the winter it is impossible to find a seat. They have limited room to work with so I’m not sure how much they could do.
There is more seating! If you look at last picture you see that the tables on the left side are 4-tops now. Before, they were just 2-tops. Maybe not a huge change, but every seat helps there. I’m excited for this.
Yay! We’ve seriously missed our Shake Shack in our household. If only there had been a way for them to expand and add more table space —
Yes, let’s introduce tablet ordering in an unaffected residential neighborhood, next to global tourist attractions, in the middle of a worldwide virus outbreak.
Exactly what I was thinking!
Lol. How is that relevant?
Provide hand sanitizer dispensers next to every tablet and program tablets to work only after being touched by a sanitizer-damp fingertip. Technology for the win!
I agree, but even w/o the virus I don’t understand the point of the tablets. I’ve been in several other food places/theaters with e ordering and there are employees placed near the kiosks assisting with the orders. Why not jut open more cashiers/registers and to keep the line moving?
— “Why not just open more cashiers/registers and to keep the line moving?”
Because each of those new workers would be entitled to a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Putting in electronics is much cheaper.
Anybody else still remember (& miss) The Museum Cafe?!
Yes I remember it well!
I loved the Museum Cafe. We even had thanksgiving dinner there once.
However, as nice as it is to remember past places on the UWS, it’s also good to see the new things here for a newer, younger patron. As I usually think about new things, they are for younger folks and the future. I hope that is what our older neighbors thought when we moved here 41 years ago.
Yep, I used to go there for their killer Bacon Cheeseburger, I don’t think anything has ever topped it.
OH GOD!!! THIS IS GREAT NEWS!!!!
Yep Nelson, I remember — and sorely miss — the Museum Cafe (esp. its warm Grecian chicken salad)!! I also loved the museum tchotchke shop 1 or 2 doors north where you could check out all the cool stuff while waiting for a table.
Yes, I miss Museum Cafe in the extreme, as I miss must resturants that have closed in the last forty years.
The new look is awesome !
Billy NYC sighting! Incognito mode initiated
Shake Shack has the first tablet ordering system I’ve used that’s not extremely annoying. Part of that is having a relatively short menu and the other part is that their app actually seems to work well which is a rarity.