Tour Chicago’s Third Shake Shake, Opening Today in the West Loop

Ground beef forces have been assembling in Fulton Market over the last few months, culminating with 11 a.m. today when Shake Shack will open its third Chicago location. Fellow burger spot Kuma’s Corner, later today, will retaliate and open their third restaurant in the city, only a five-minute walk from Shake Shack. It’s quite a time to be alive in this crossfire for hamburger lovers in the Fulton Market/West Loop nexus.

Fulton Market’s layout and decor will be familiar for any Shake Shack fan. There’s room for 90 with a focus on eco-friendly construction materials. The tabletops are made from reclaimed bowling alley lanes from CounterEvolution. Brooklyn-based Uhuru created the chairs using sustainable substances. Rochester, N.Y.-based Staach used wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council for the booths.

As Shake Shack enters the former heart of Chicago’s meatpacking industry in Fulton Market, management commissioned a mural as homage. A local artist, Don’t Fret, painted a piece using Carl Sandburg — the Chicago poet who famously dubbed this city the “hog butcher for the world” — as inspiration. That brought the artist to create a colorful painting outside of a chef holding a pig’s head alongside other characters.

Shake Shack joins the new Kuma’s, Grange Hall Burger Bar, and Umami Burger in the area — plus Au Cheval, of course. Even Eastman Egg Co. serves a “two-napkin” burger on Randolph Street.

Check out the photos below. Shake Shack opens this morning and the first 50 people in line at 11 a.m. will get free custard.

Shake Shack, 185 N. Morgan St., (312) 800-8926, open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.