A high-end fast-food restaurant is shaking up the waterfront food scene in Dumbo.
Popular patty parlor Shake Shack opened up its second Brooklyn location at the Fulton Ferry Landing on Tuesday and has a third in the works across the street from the Barclays Center. The borough push makes perfect sense, a spokesman for the chain said.
“We’re thrilled to deepen our footprint into other parts of Brooklyn,” said Edwin Bragg, director of marketing and communications for the company. “Brooklyn continues to be a culinary and cultural hub.”
The new Dumbo location sits at the intersection of Old Fulton and Water streets, directly across from the ferry dock. Aside from the usual top-shelf beef and hand-spun “concrete” custards, the new burger joint offers up a special-to-the-location Caramel Carousel concrete, named for the nearby Jane’s Carousel and made of shattered sugar cone, sea salt, caramel, and banana. Also on offer is a seasonal pie from Gowanus bakery Four and Twenty Blackbirds.
One young Shake Shack devotee from Dumbo, who used to ride his bike to the Fulton Mall location with his dad, said the new spot is tops, and not just because it is closer to home.
“The burgers are really good,” said Alex Neuman after taking his first bite. “I think they’re better than the ones at the other Shake Shack.”
His sister had not tasted a Shack Burger before, but now says she could be sold.
“I’m not really a big burger fan,” said Naia Neuman. “But it actually turned out really good.”
The interior of the new spot highlights architectural details of the century-old building, including a brick archway that leads to the dining room. The inside is finished with wood paneling salvaged from decommissioned water towers and wood tables made from the beams of Dumbo warehouses.
The eatery is still waiting on a liquor license, but management is planning to have red and white wines on tap and Brooklyn Brewery has cooked up a special beer batch for Shack Shack’s 10th anniversary that will be served at all (licensed) locations soon.
In an effort to make inroads with borough animal lovers, Shake Shack is donating a portion of its profits from the Dumbo operation to Badass Brooklyn Animal Rescue.
For one Shake Shack aficionado, all the bells and whistles are secondary to the joy of being able to get a good slab of ground beef in the neighborhood.
“We have a lot of pizza places,” Alex Neuman said. “I’m just happy we have a burger place here now.”
A manager for the company said he was not sure when the third location, on Flatbush avenue between Pacific Street and Fifth Avenue, will open. But he said it should be soon.
