Shake Shack Upper West Side Almost Ready!

The burger and custard haven Shake Shack is getting ready to open its Upper West Side location some time soonish—they are still waiting for some paperwork). In the meantime, they're putting the finishing touches on the place, which has a much bigger kitchen (= faster service) and a rec room downstairs for rental (parties, events, presentations even) that will be open to regular seating when not rented.

The space has a slightly raw feeling, with exposed brick and polished concrete floors--and the cantilevered Shake Shack awning is retained inside, so it feels like the Shack just landed inside the building. It also boasts some special additions to the menu. There are three UWS-specific shake flavors: The Shacky Road Concrete has "Chocolate custard, Valrhona chocolate crunchies, marshmallow and almonds"; the Upper West Slide has "vanilla custard, strawberry puree, fresh banana, and shortbread cookie"; and the Natural History "Crunch-stellation" (proceeds of which will benefit AMNH programming) has "vanilla custard, malt, Valrhona chocolate crunchies, caramel and hot fudge." And there are special Shake Shack wines, from Marquis Philips: a "Shack Chard" (California) and a "Shack Shiraz" (South Eastern Australia). And there will be a local microbrews on tap, too!

Shake Shack UWS is at 266 Columbus Avenue, on the corner of West 77th. Opening date is TBD; opening hours TBD, but will likely eventually be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.