If you’ve been to New York City in the last nine years, you’ve probably stood in/avoided the telling queue spiraled around one of 10 New York Shake Shack locations. If you’ve been to/are from South Florida, D.C., Connecticut, Philadelphia or Massachusetts in the last three, you’ve probably participated in similar lines amongst throngs of word-of-mouth fans surrounding a smug friend regaling them with tales of soft potato buns and creamy frozen custard.
Well, next summer, Atlanta may have its very own line to wait 40 minutes for a juicy animal flesh sandwich. Maybe even three lines! According to Kim Severson, the Atlanta bureau chief for the New York Times and Eater.com, Shake Shack founder, Danny Meyer, has found locations for his burger chain’s Atlanta debut — two of three picked out in the Ponce City Market.
The gargantuan building that lurks over the Old Fourth Ward is undergoing major repurposing that will establish it as the Covent Garden or Chelsea Market of the South. And the Shake Shack is just the cherry on the sundae. Jameson Properties confirmed plans for apartments, boutique food shops (please be a cheese shop), offices, a food court, retail stores, art galleries, gym facilities and a rooftop amusement park. Yeah, an amusement park. And, according to Eater.com, the location for two of three Atlanta Shake Shacks.
PCM has generally been closed since Jamestown Properties purchased it in 2010. Last year the Dancing Goats Coffee Bar opened its screened-in porch, complete with wooden rocking chairs and aggressive outlet blockades, in its temporary location inside the old Sears automotive department. The project is scheduled to open spring/summer 2014 and will continue until spring 2015.
Shake Shack número three might be opening in the so-called “Buckhead-Atlanta district“. Basically, Atlantic Station meets Rodeo Drive. The outdoor, 6-block shopping bonanza appears to be located at the West Paces Ferry and Peachtree Road intersection. You know, that place that has been under construction for years. A clever mock-up on the website reveals part of Shake Shack’s official signage. In line, you’ll be able to show off your Louboutins, and wipe the grease off your hands with your Hermès scarf. It’ll be awesome.
The Summer of ‘Shack is upon us, and it brings with it rapid urban expansion: Ponce City Market, new Falcons stadium, The Beltline, Atlanta Streetcar, etc. The City in the Forest is growing up, y’all.