Capitol burger fans rejoice! The Washington Post reported early last week that New York’s Shake Shack, the burger and fry haven created by restaurateur Danny Meyer, would be making its way south to D.C., following in the footsteps of many popular NY restaurants. According to the article, Meyer’s D.C. location will open in early 2011 along the city’s famed Dupont Circle. Despite long lines at his New York locations, Meyer assures fans, however, that service will move a bit faster at the D.C. shop.
“The lines move a lot quicker at our newer sites because we’ve made our kitchen space almost twice the size of the Madison Square Park” location, [Meyer] said.
Meyer announced last November his plans to expand outside of the Manhattan area, opening his Miami location earlier this summer. With the success of his Shake Shacks, the restaurateur says the diversity of his restaurant locations, which include Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, Maialino, and Tabla, among others, has been beneficial during the recent recession.
“Fine dining in New York City was not easy in 2009,” [Meyer] said. “We felt very fortunate that among our businesses were Shake Shack and Blue Smoke because those two businesses had record years last year, while the other restaurants were flat.”
There have been a few rumors lately, as well, that Meyer’s Eleven Madison Park would be the latest in a string of highly-rated restaurants embroiled in labor and wage lawsuits. While Eater New York recently noted a possible legal battle, Justia.com confirms that the restaurant has indeed been named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed earlier this month in New York’s Southern District Court.
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Time Out Chicago recently noticed banners running throughout the Chicago Tribune website featuring Alinea’s Grant Achatz in an oral health campaign. According to the publication’s post, Achatz appears in both banner ads and an advertising-supplement bringing awareness to oral cancer, a subject he’s quite familiar with after his battle with tongue cancer in 2008.
In the supplement, the chef discusses his experience leading to the Stage IV diagnosis, including a missed opportunity by dentists and doctors when a spot developed on his tongue. While I absolutely applaud Achatz – who has been an outspoken advocate for oral health since his diagnosis – for getting involved in the awareness campaign, there’s some discussion in the post’s comments about the advertisements themselves, which are funded by a company who produces oral health brush tests.
~Jennifer Heigl