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Fairfax City’s newest Shake Shack opened Sept. 17 at Kamp Washington Shopping Center, welcoming a line of customers to its location between routes 50 and 29.
The restaurant at 11040 Main St. is the chain’s seventh Northern Virginia location and 13th in Virginia. It operates from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
General Manager Mike Lloyd said he had waited about a year for the restaurant to open and hired many employees from the surrounding area.
“We are so happy to be here,” Lloyd said during the ribbon-cutting celebration. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jennifer Rose led the ceremony because Mayor Catherine Read had a scheduling conflict. Economic Development Authority Vice Chair Patrick Soleymani and Commissioner of the Revenue Page Johnson also represented the city.
Rose welcomed the restaurant and highlighted its early support for Food for Others. Shake Shack held a canned-food drive benefiting the charity’s Merrifield pantry and pledged to donate $1 for each burger sold on opening day.
Johnson noted the site’s place in local history. The Black Lantern Inn, one of Fairfax City’s earliest restaurants, once stood there and operated for 50 years, he said. Johnson also said small businesses generate 70 percent of the city’s business revenue.
Before the doors opened at 11 a.m., team member Tyreek Scott led employees and guests in a synchronized overhead “Shack Clap.”
Lloyd said the company selected Kamp Washington because of the area’s potential customer base and abundance of families. He plans to support nearby schools through donations and fundraising events.
His connections to the community are personal. Lloyd coaches Fairfax Little League, lives in Burke and has sons who attend Robinson Secondary School. He said he also hired students with ties to Robinson and Fairfax High School.
An Army veteran who has worked for Shake Shack for seven years, Lloyd described becoming a general manager as one of his goals.
The menu includes the ShackBurger, made with cheese, lettuce, tomato and ShackSauce, and the SmokeShack Burger, which adds bacon and cherry peppers. A French Onion Soup Burger featuring Gruyère, crispy and caramelized onions, and roasted-garlic Parmesan sauce is available through the end of the year. The burgers use quarter-pound portions of Angus beef.
Customers can also order crispy chicken, all-beef hot dogs, fries, cheese fries and bacon-cheese fries. Beverage choices include flavored lemonades, iced tea, juice, sodas, beer and wine.
Twelve milkshake flavors are offered regularly. Limited-time selections include banana pudding, campfire s’mores and Oreo cookie funnel cake. Frozen custard and root beer and Creamsicle floats are also available.
Lloyd said the restaurant intends to make community involvement central to its Fairfax presence.
“We want our customers to not just have a meal here and leave, but to remember us and return,” he said.