Michigan Avenue's Shake Shack Is (Almost) Here

By Rachel Cromidas in Food on May 21, 2015 8:00PM

(Photo: Rachel Cromidas)

The iconic, Pavlovian Response-inducing sign for the upmarket burger-chain Shake Shack is up on Michigan Avenue, at the site of the city's upcoming second location.

The Shake Shack at 12 S. Michigan Ave. is set to open alongside a new Land and Sea Dept. restaurant inside the much-anticipated Chicago Athletic Association Hotel. The hotel will celebrate its opening Saturday. However, representatives of the New York City-based burger joint say they are not yet ready to announce the date it will be up-and-running. On Thursday morning the windows facing Michigan Avenue were boarded up, with city construction permit notices taped to them.

Chicago's first Shake Shack opened last fall on East Ohio Street in River North to much fanfare. Lines snaked out the door and down the block off-and-on for days after the opening. Some patrons even said they were missing their window to vote in the Nov. 4 state elections in order to wait online for a burger or shake.