Shake Shack Scuttlebutt Confirmed – Coming to Logan Circle!!!

by Prince Of Petworth — September 25, 2016 at 10:22 pm 69 Comments

shackshack
14th and Rhode Island Ave, NW

Thanks to Alex for sending word: “Looks like the shake shack at 14th and Rhode Island is a go! Going to need to get some bigger pants for the winter.”

Back in March we shared some scuttlebutt about Shake Shack looking to come to Logan Circle. Confirmed and now we know where – the former Caribou Coffee location at 14th and Rhode Island Ave, NW. You can see Shake Shack’s Dupont menu here.

Like how the whole building turned out?

What the corner used to look like:

aPhamDC

Can’t wait! Now I’ll have options between shake shack and yums lol
anon

Building isn’t pretty, but it’s housing and a shake shack so no complaints.
JM

Haven’t been by there in awhile. They really screwed up that corner didn’t they?
- DM
  
  What, you don’t think “late-1980s suburban medical arts building” is an architectural style that fits in Logan Circle?
  - Jerry Grundle
    
    +1. This building could be faced in bare cinder blocks and people would still line up down the block to pay $3,000/month for a studio apartment in it.
    - ***
      
      That may actually be better then this POS
  - ***
    
    If DC had a Worst Buildings of the year award, this would be at the top of the list.
- JohnH
  
  Those apartments – I just don’t get the wall-to-wall floor to ceiling windows craze. You can literally see into even the top floor’s apartment from ground level and you can see a good chunk of the rooms on all of the other floors (and some of those have to be bedrooms). These apartments look great in theory when they are just staged as models, but end up just covered up by blinds which limits your natural light.
  .
  When I’m a millionaire and can afford an apartment 80+ floors up in Manhattan where no one lives remotely as high as me, that’s acceptable for wall-to-wall floor to ceiling windows like this.
Jack Stevens

To anyone who gets upset, news flash , only shake shack would pay Abdo’s crazy rents
- ET
  
  It is likely that only bigger chains with deeper pockets can afford most places in the city so we should all get ready for that.
  - jaybird
    
    Is that what’s happening in NYC?
FridayGirl

YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! This is the best news I could have hoped for this week.
Anon

Am I grossly abusing my yuppie privilege if I’ve never stepped foot inside a Shake Shack?
- FridayGirl
  
  You haven’t truly lived.
- Tsar of Truxton
  
  I honestly think it is completely overrated. I really don’t understand the hype. The burgers are fine, but there are waaaay better options, and the fries are just not good imo.
  - Bloomy
    
    kinda agree…
    - pcat
      
      I agree too. It’s a standard hamburger – nothing special.
  - INWDC
    
    Agree…however, some of their custard flavors are delicious. Around this time of year they do a pumpkin pie custard where they loosely swirl a chunk of pumpkin pie into vanilla custard. It’s awesome.
  - Truxtoner
    
    Their shakes.
- ET
  
  I been in a few times and I wasn’t overly impressed. They weren’t bad but not thinking they lived up to the hype.
James

Who cares? Shake Shack is overpriced.

Just another example of sterile DC, because rents are too high for independent or ethnic businesses to survive.
- shmoo
  
  well, this was a 7-11 and a caribou coffee before it is a shake shack, so it is net neutral in fact.
  - Q
    
    (7-11 is across the street, and it’s still there. I can’t remember what this place was before Caribou…)
- ObserverDC
  
  Yes, things were so much better when all transactions had to be made via a window in bulletproof glass.
  - FridayGirl
    
    +1. Also, should we name all of the other eateries that are overpriced in this city? Unless you’re getting a burger at McDonald’s you’re not paying any less anywhere else.
    - JohnH
      
      Shake Shack really only gets overpriced when you add in a drink ($2.30 for a tiny fountain soda). Otherwise you’re paying $9 for a burger/fries. Not the biggest burger, but it’s at least real meat. I went to McD’s on a road trip not long ago and was shocked how expensive it was now – you pay $10 for a value meal there too.
- jaybird
  
  Have you not eaten out lately? Tons of local restauranteurs doing their thing.
B’Dale Res

That also used to be a 7/11 back before it became a Caribou Coffee.

I as well don’t understand the hype about shack shake. It is good and all, but it is just a hamburger. Does that mean properties values will rise even more than if they put in an Apple store?
- Prince Of Petworth
  
  Nope but if they bring back Taco Bell…
  - FridayGirl
    
    PoP, now that you mention it, I actually would have rather had a Taco Bell. Why do we not have any Taco Bells?
    - Prince Of Petworth
      
      I miss Taco Bell so much in an unironic I totally love it for real way. Alas we must now trek to Union Station food court now to get some.
      - anon
        
        Or drive-through at New York Ave and Bladensburg Ave NE if you have access to a car.
      - HaileUnlikely
        
        There is also a Taco Bell right at the DC/SS line (on the SS side of the line), one or two buildings down from the new Potter Violin place (old Blair Mansion).
      - FridayGirl
        
        Haile — really?! I didn’t realize that. That’s probably closest to me if I really get a craving for it. Good to know.
      - HaileUnlikely
        
        Affirmative. It’s one of those combined Taco Bell / KFC joints. The S2 and S9 have a stop basically right across the street from it, on Alaska Ave, at the awkward Alaska/Kamlia/Georgia/Eastern Ave intersection. You can’t see it from there, but it’s right behind the ugly gray building that houses a State Farm Insurance office and Nile Ethiopian (which is excellent, probably my 2nd favorite Ethiopian spot around, a tenth of a point behind CherCher).
  - B’dale Res
    
    I wish there were some more convenient Taco Bell locations. They used to have one at the GW foodcourt… Taco Bell I would think would do a killing in DC…oh well…Taco is a bazillion times better than Shake Shack for rizzle.
    - ***
      
      Especially if they rolled out their new concept interiors.
    - d
      
      You’re 5-10 years too late.
hungeegirl

Are these gonna be like Starbucks now? There is one .6 miles away.
- Prince Of Petworth
  
  We do live in a city with a population of 650,000+ and growing… 🙂
OiWithThePoodles

This is good, though I wish it were closer to U Street. Like instead of Boss Burger or whatever they are calling themselves now. It’s only really 4 or 5 blocks from the one on 18th.

Side note: I’ve lived here for over 3 years now and have gotten to the point where I’ve BEEN to places that have since been torn down and rebuilt as other things. I used to hang out at that Caribou Coffee to kill time between getting off work and having a date at ChurchKey. It’s a very strange feeling, to watch the city change before your eyes. I can only begin to imagine what it’s like for people that have been here for decades.
- That MAn A
  
  yup, its literally surreal
  was in ivy city last week and it blew my mind how clean the streets were over there now
  mind is still blown from it
  & shake shack… extra regular
- jaybird
  
  Yep. Mind blown c.1977.
Aaron

14th Streer has too many full service restaurants and as a result is lacking many fast-casual options. I live nearby and sometimes I just want a quick bit to eat. Some were in an uproar when Chipotle appeared, but I for one like having faster options beyond full service, waiter/waitress establishments. Now in the vicinity of 14th & P there will be options for a quick burrito, burger, or salad (SweetGreen). Just wish Cava would open nearby as well!
- ***
  
  There’s a Cava literally .5 miles away… next to Shake Shack. It’s at best a 15 minute walk. I love how people move to Logan / Dupont etc. because they “want to be within walking distance to everything” except no, actually I don’t want to walk more than 4 blocks.
  - FridayGirl
    
    I partially agree, but depending on where people are coming from (from work, etc.) that extra half mile may very well be a half-mile out of the way of an already-too-long commute. I do think it would have been smart for Shake Shack to open a little further north on 14th, but all things considered, I think the two stores will be serving two separate sets of customers.
    - ***
      
      I mean, I get that… but I feel like this is an area that’s already WAY over-saturated. I would be happy to have anything remotely interesting less than a 1.5 mile walk from me, so I’m just projecting my own frustration with living in the food desert.
  - Anonymous
    
    +1
    They can get on an ‘effing bike and be there in less than 5 minutes instead of dealing with a 15 minute walk. I think many folks who want to live in the “walkable city” would really be better off living in a mall or outdoor “town centre” where they don’t need to walk more than 300 feet to anything.
    - JohnH
      
      I mean I understand that some people are rather lazy in this city. But at the same time, it’s not always 75 and sunny out. I live a few blocks off of 14th – a roughly 10 minute walk to most places along 14th St from P to U. Walking 10-15 minutes to Chipotle in January is not at the top of my list. Now, at the same time, it is also not a high priority in the world’s problems. But to compare it to Starbucks – which are literally located within 1-2 blocks of eachother, is a bit unreasonable. Being spaced out 10-15 minutes away walking distance is not that close in an urban environment. (and yes, I’ve bike shared to Chinatown to get Shake Shack).
      - ***
        
        My point is that there are vast areas of the District with a fraction of the food options in this area of town. Putting a Shake Shack less than a mile (barely more than .5 miles) away from an existing location, on top of the multitude of burger places in the area doesn’t seem like the best use of resources.
      - FridayGirl
        
        I see your point ***. But isn’t the 14th Street corridor one of the most dense parts of the city, as well? Maybe they figure they’ll get more customers even with two stores close together than they would in other locations. I also notice that both this and the Dupont location border both downtown and residential areas.
      - JohnH
        
        I mean it’s Shake Shack’s resources….
        .
        There’s a lot of places in DC that could use more of something and a lot of the problem is the price of opening and maintaining. The fact of the matter is that area is a more dense, still relatively downtown location than say – a Cleveland Park. And there’s places, like Woodley Park, that are less dense that have things like Nando’s that 14th St/U Street doesn’t have.
        .
        These company’s make decisions based on a lot of things and there is not a fast casual burger place within a 10-15 min walking radius (which is a lot for a city). But yes, you could probably populate DC with 10 more Shake Shacks and find markets for them.
        .
        I’d be much more upset about a tapas restaurant than a Shake Shack – which as other’s mentioned, there’s not a lot of fast casual in this area.
      - ***
        
        Oddly, I was thinking – if they opened somewhere around the zoo on Connecticut they would make a killing. Granted, I know the NIMBY’s of CP would absolutely not allow anything remotely corporate to invade their carefully guarded bubble.
      - JohnH
        
        That zoo area isn’t exactly a slam dunk. A lot of places have not made it over there. But that is almost all residential business – 14th has a mix of both.
      - west_egg
        
        @*** — I wonder how the population density compares in those “vast areas” of the District?
        .
        As far as the zoo and the “NIMBY’s of CP” allowing anything “remotely corporate,” there’s a 7-Eleven and a Starbucks directly across the street from the zoo so I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make.
      - FridayGirl
        
        Slightly outdated (last updated 2013) but here is a population density map! arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=432703f6abd745c18e56bc653bbf95d4
      - ***
        
        @west egg: Was thinking more along the restaurant/retail stretch between Macomb & Porter. There is a long history of the residents in this area opposing just about anything in this zone that isn’t already established. I think the NIMBY’s would rather see CP fade away into an urban ruin than allow anything to occupy the numerous vacant spaces.
Byran

I cannot for the life of me understand the dichotomy between people in DC wanting and linking great food options as well as loving awful burgers like shake shack. DC has some awesome burger places. Yet people get so excited when a freaking shake shack comes? Seriously? Might as well just put a Wendy’s there they are essentially the same thing.

Sidenote: I will never understand the “Best of DC” lists that would also put Five Guys burgers over Rays Hell Burger or Good Stuff. I for one always preferred Rays Hell….but I would gladly take Good Stuff over any of these “high-end” burger joints such as Five Guys, Shake Shack, or Z Burger.
- Prince Of Petworth
  
  Wendy’s is OK but Shake Shack is far superior. As for the dichotomy, variety is the spice of life my friend.
- Anonymous
  
  Because Shake Shack oozes yuppie aspirations with $7 burgers and Wendy’s is for the poor who can afford the Dollar Menu.
  Marketing, my friend.
- FridayGirl
  
  I always felt like Shake Shack was the east coast version of In-n-Out (although I refuse to play into the rivalry, I like them both). Also, I thought Good Stuff was in the same category as all of the above burger places you mention? I did stop eating there after I saw an employee touching the food with his bare hands one time though…. I emailed headquarters about it and never received any response.
  - msus
    
    Shake Shack was genius: basically they copied in-n-out and charged 30% more for the same food.
- DM
  
  Totally with you: Good Stuff is light years better than Shake Shack or Five Guys, and I don’t understand why it doesn’t get the attention the others do. (They’re all better than Wendy’s though.)
- s.patrillo
  
  I’m sorry, Shake Shack makes my stomach turn every time I eat there. (*You would think that I would have learned my lesson). Not sure what happened, but in the past couple of years, every time I eat there, about an hour later, it fees like someone poured a tank of oil into my stomach with a block of cheese and/or bread thrown in there to really wreak havoc on my GI tract. And I do not have a sensitive stomach–though I generally do not eat burgers and fries that often. (1x every 3mos). Shouldn’t matter: one of the best d&*ned burgers that I ever had in my life was in Hong Kong, wow. (Renaissance Hotel, I think…)
  
  The best Shake Shack experience that I had was back in 2014, on my bday (July). I ate at the Penn Quarter location, next to the old Spy Museum. The fries were still amazing, and I did not feel like I had a bottle of Wesson oil in my gut afterward. SInce then??? Unimpressed, however, I do realize that this could be due w.h.e.r.e. I ate subsequent burgers : Union Station. Folks…no offense, but eat elsewhere. The food experiences that I have had here: Chipotle (upstairs/have not tried the downstairs location), Shophouse, Sbux, ShShack, and Chop’t (*sometimes, but more often good than bad, but i question the food temps, tbh) are sometimes less than stellar. I believe this is primarily due to the high-volume nature of these places being inside of Union Station, overworked and underpaid staff, and low-quality food prep. I will go to less dense areas from here on out, and I don’t mind waiting for some quality food. Good food is worth the wait. I wish places would slow down: from the order-takers to the food preparation—too much stress and rushing on all fronts. Then throw LOUD, ear-shattering music into the mix. (Looking at you Cava, Chipotle, Chop’t (OMGGGGG), Brown Bag (yikes)….)
  
  I will give Shake Shack another chance, but not their fries, unless they go back to the real hand-cut stuff. Not this frozen Oreida cafeteria-elementary-school-overpriced-mess.
John M

I feel bad for anyone renting in that building. Burger places smell good when you first walk in, but you will hate the smell if you have to deal with it 24/7. (Source: Lived by Z-Burger)
ustreetmayor

Is Shake Shack doing small plates now? After all, that is a prerequisite to 14th Street restaurants. Right?
anon

This is a new Shake Shack concept restaurant. Since it’s on 14th St., they will be serving small plate burgers and organic free range non-gmo vegan potato fries. Prices should start at around $25. Expect a 1-2 hour wait.
- ***
  
  Shack Sliders!
Craig

My husband and I met at the Caribou Coffee here, and while Shake Shack doesn’t thrill me, I’ll be happy to go back to the space with him just because it means something special to us.

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