Buns, beef, stars and stripes
Shanghai has just been given a dollop of New York in the form of a hamburger outfit that joins battle with others for a helping of the fast-food market
When an American fast-casual burger joint officially opened an outlet in Shanghai recently a lion dance was held in front of its store in the Xintiandi tourist hotspot. It was only 11 am when the performance ended, but by then a crowd of more than 100 had already formed a queue that snaked around the area's little alleys.
The restaurant, located in a refurbished shikumen (house with a courtyard and gates encased in stone frames), is the first outpost in China of the New York burger joint Shake Shack. Randy Garutti, the company's chief executive, says it plans to open 25 outlets in Shanghai over the next 10 years. "We always choose to go to the great cities of the world," Garutti says.
