Shake Shack Named Most Expensive Fast-Food Restaurant

Shake Shack has been named the most expensive fast-food restaurant, according to a new study.

The online language tutoring marketplace Preply recently analyzed nearly 60,000 Google reviews for more than 10,000 restaurants in the top 50 cities in the United States. Its goal in this assessment? To find out which restaurants, from high-end to fast-food, customers consider to be the most overpriced and fairly priced.

Shake Shack was named the overall most overpriced fast-food restaurant. Five Guys trailed behind in the No. 2 slot.

In May of this year, Shake Shack’s Q1 earnings call transcript revealed that the company continues to face the challenges of internal food and wage inflationary pressures. CFO Katie Fogertey stated, “On pricing, to address food and wage inflationary pressures which were in particular in California with the move to $20 per hour and minimum wage, we took the following steps. In January, we raised the menu price on our own delivery by 5% and maintained the 15% premium on third party channels as compared to our own delivery.”

She continued, “In mid-March, we raised menu prices by about 3% in total. However, this was comprised of about 7% menu price in California to address the wage pressures and about 2% to 2.5% price in all other regions. That level of pricing is very consistent with historical pricing practices.”

Why Is Shake Shack Considered so Expensive by Diners?

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Shake Shack is considered expensive to those who believe in the idea that it’s a fast-food restaurant. However, the burger and chicken sandwich joint is more in line with a fast-service dining establishment rather than fast food.

Shake Shack’s menu offers burgers, crinkle-cut fries, hot dogs, shakes, soda, frozen custard, wine, and beer. According to Market Realist, Shake Shake adheres to a “fine casual” concept style of dining. Therefore, it is considered a hybrid of fine dining and fast-casual dining formats.

The higher prices can also be attributed to the restaurant’s use of all-natural, hormone and antibiotic-free beef as well as pork, chicken, eggs, and dairy products. Shake Shake is committed to no added hormones, antibiotics, animal by-products, or sub-therapeutic antibiotics in feed, and it ensures humane treatment of all animals used by its supply chain.

Therefore, is Shake Shack validated as being named the most expensive fast-food restaurant? Or do its higher prices reflect its commitment to quality and an overall positive customer dining experience? The fast-casual model and better-quality products may justify the cost.