Where’s the beef? Shake Shack aims for August opening

The outside of the new Shake Shack on North Bedford Road in Mount Kisco. After a longer-than-expected renovation, the location could be open for business before the end of next month. MARTIN WILBUR PHOTO

By MARTIN WILBUR

The anticipated opening of the new Shake Shack in Mount Kisco could arrive before the end of August, The Recorder was told this week.

Project architect Andrew Whitelaw said he understands that mid- to late- August is the latest target date for the popular restaurant chain to open its first northern Westchester location at 176 North Bedford Road. Whitelaw said he didn’t know if that is a hard opening date, but it’s the timeline that has been discussed by the company.

Remaining work is focused on the interior with “nothing major” still to be done, he said.

“They’re testing the HVAC equipment and the kitchen equipment and all that, so they’re still working on the equipment end of it,” Whitelaw said.

On Monday, the burger and shake chain posted a job opening for a restaurant shift manager on its website. Calls and emails sent this week to its corporate offices in Manhattan were not returned.

Shake Shack has taken over the roughly 4,000-square-foot space that was previously split between a Dunkin’ and the Oishii Asian fusion restaurant. Significant exterior and interior renovations have been undertaken following the burger chain’s approval by the village in fall 2024.

From the outside, the exterior of the building appears at or near completion. The parking lot has been paved and striped and there has been landscaping done on the property, Whitelaw said.

There has been local interest in Shake Shack’s arrival over the past year and a half since it received approvals. It was first hoped that the restaurant would open last summer, but that was amended to this spring. Previously, the delays were considered typical construction-related issues that elongated the process.

Once Shake Shack opens its doors in Mount Kisco, it will become the first location north of Interstate 287 in Westchester. The five other spots where it operates in the county are in Hartsdale, Port Chester and The Westchester mall in White Plains, along with two stores in Yonkers.

Traffic congestion could also play a factor for customers. It is near the closed Preston Way Bridge, with no approximate date for the start of that project.