The popular Shake Shack burger chain plans to enter the Naples-Fort Myers market with a location at Mercato in North Naples.
Known for serving elevated versions of American classics, Shake Shack will open in 2025 at 9105 Strada Place, Suite 3135, a retail unit that most recently hosted the Hand & Harvest Artisan Market, which had its final Saturday pop-up event July 27. Across from the new Birch Lane store, that Mercato unit also previously was home to Charming Charlie women’s fashion store.
Since 2010, when Shake Shack opened its first restaurant outside of New York City in Miami Beach’s South Beach, the fast-growing chain has opened 20 in Florida, including Sarasota and Tampa on the Gulf Coast. The majority of its Florida locations are in the Miami and Orlando areas.
“Committed to providing warm hospitality and uplifting experiences for its customers, the brand plans to transform 3,002 square feet of the location into a casual gathering hub for the community,” said Lauren Ness, media relations manager for North American Properties, responsible for managing and marketing Mercato.
In addition to handspun milkshakes, Shake Shack’s made-to-order menu includes the ShackBurger, a single or double cheeseburger made with an Angus beef blend; crispy chicken bites, flat-top dogs, crinkle-cut fries and frozen custard. Other beverages include house-made lemonades, iced teas and its signature Brooklyn Shackmeister Ale.
Shake Shack will join other hospitality ventures on tap this year at Mercato. Beeline Ales & Spirits, Tap 42 Craft Kitchen & Bar and Waxin’s restaurant and bar already are being built out.
Plans also are in the works this summer and fall to reimagine Mercato as an elevated entertainment hub. Plans call for tripling the size of the mixed-use development’s Piazza between Bravo Italian Kitchen and Narrative Coffee Roasters to create a more connected, walkable environment throughout the center.
NAP has rolled out similar public space makeovers at other lifestyle centers that it manages and markets. For instance, Shake Shack is replacing P.F. Chang’s China Bistro as an anchor of the reimagined Ridge Hill hospitality-driven destination in Yonkers, New York, as the mall’s Town Square is redeveloped into more of a casual community gathering hub.
Since opening its first fast-casual restaurant 20 years ago in New York City’s Madison Square Park, Shake Shack has expanded to more than 530 company-operated or licensed locations worldwide, including more than 335 in 33 states. The company plans to open about 80 locations this year, according to Shake Shack’s first quarter 2024 shareholder letter.
