Shake Shack poised to open first East End location at Tanger Outlets in Riverhead

Shake Shack will start flipping burgers on the East End for the first time when the popular chain opens its new location at Tanger Outlets in Riverhead on June 30.

The 3,100-square-foot restaurant along Old Country Road is located in Tanger 2 and will be open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“We are thrilled to welcome Shake Shack to Tanger Riverhead and introduce this iconic brand to the East End for the very first time,” Tanger Marketing Director Lesley Anthony said in a statement.

Shake Shack will donate $1 from every sandwich sold on opening day to the Church of the Harvest Food Pantry in Riverhead. The first wave of guests will also receive a free Shake Shack tote bag.

The sprawling Tanger complex, where vacancies have been a growing concern, will also welcome Little Star Playland, an indoor playground, on Friday.

The additions come as the mall operator seeks changes to the zoning code, as the Riverhead News-Review previously reported. Dining options, in particular, have been limited. Zoning laws put in place more than 30 years ago allowed just one restaurant or food court at each of Tanger’s two campuses.

Proposed changes introduced in April would remove the current cap on the number of restaurants and allow eateries with or without drive-through service.

They would also expand permitted uses to include personal services, banks, indoor recreation and professional offices; adjust parking requirements from one space per 200 square feet to one per 250 square feet; reduce front-yard setback requirements and modify landscaping rules; and eliminate the single-story campus requirement while maintaining overall design standards.

Shake Shack began as a hot dog cart in Manhattan’s Madison Square Park in 2001 before opening its first permanent kiosk there in 2004. The company has since grown into a global burger chain with more than 630 locations, including more than 405 in the U.S. and more than 225 international locations.