Shake Shack Founder Reveals Best Career Decisions that Led to IPO - East Idaho News
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Shake Shack Founder Reveals Best Career Decisions that Led to IPO

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012015 ShakeShackHQ?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1422643550481Shake Shack(NEW YORK) — The founder and CEO of Shake Shack are on a high as the New York-based food chain’s stock soars in its IPO Friday.

Danny Meyer, Shake Shack founder and Union Square Hospitality Group founder, said Friday’s event was the culmination of a 30-year journey when he opened Union Square Cafe at 27 years old. At the time, his family wanted him to be a lawyer.

Meyer told ABC News’ chief business and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis the two smartest choices he’s made:

“Number one was firing myself as chef three weeks before Union Square Cafe opened,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here today if I had kept being the chef.”

“And the second one kind of relates to that. And it’s really surrounding myself with people who know how to do things I don’t know how to do in my wildest dreams: people like Randy — people who run Union Square Hospitality Group. I get to be a coach and a cheerleader and a visionary. I love food. I love making people happy with food,” he said.

Mid-day shares of “SHAK” on the New York Stock Exchange were trading above $48 a share mid-day.

The company priced its IPO above expectations with a valuation of $745.5 million. Shake Shack raised $105 million, with five million shares at $21 each.

“We honestly thought we’d sell a couple hot dogs,” CEO Randy Garutti said. “Shake Shack was born as a humble hot dog cart to raise money for a park. And three years later Shake Shack was born. And here we are ten years later, never imagining that we would ever be in a place like this. And we’re acting today exactly how we acted [for] that first Chicago-style hot dog. We’re doing one hot dog, one burger at a time.”

The company is planning to open 10 new restaurants a year for the foreseeable future, with plans for Austin, Texas this year.


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