Looks Like Oakland Is Getting a Shake Shack

New York burger chain Shake Shack will bestow a location upon Oakland’s Uptown Station complex, anonymous, salivating sources tell the Chronicle. The plan is for an outpost of the restaurant, which now runs two stores in the Bay Area, to occupy a portion of the ground floor real estate at 1955 Broadway, formerly a Sears building.

It’s the latest, and juiciest, development in a serious of twists and turns for the former department store space. First, Uber bought the 1929 Beaux-Arts building with plans for an East Bay headquarters, then changed its plans and sold it to a real estate firm. Last year, payments company Square signed a lease on the office space — and now it sounds like Square employees will be enjoying some “Shackburgers” and crinkle cut fries at lunch.

While the Bay Area doesn’t lack for mid-range burger options like Shake Shack — homegrown option Super Duper, for example, occupies the same niche — the well-known chain’s arrival in the area has caused a flurry of excitement. A Palo Alto Shake Shack, then a Marin County location, were met with massive lines. A San Francisco location is bound for the Marina, and likely to experience the same buzz. Whether or not the novelty wears off by the time Shake Shack gets to Oakland remains to be seen.

• Shake Shack coming to Oakland’s Uptown Station [SF Chronicle]
• Second Bay Area Shake Shack Finally Opens This Week [ESF]
• First Bay Area Shake Shack Opens This Weekend [ESF]