A MAJOR US fast food chain which started out as a hotdog cart is set to open its first ever train station restaurant in the UK.
The burger giant will open a new restaurant in the busiest train station in the country.
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Fast-food lovers will be buzzing after iconic American burger chain Shake Shack is set to open a new store in London.
Brits commuting in St. Pancras International station will be able to grab their favourite burgers before jumping into their train.
The new Shake Shack joint will serve ip the brand’s popular menu – including breakfast burgers, crinkle-cut fries and their iconic Shack Meister Ale.
The new eatery will offer exclusive treats for hungry travellers passing through the bustling Eurostar terminal.
The new spot will be the fast food giant’s 17th location in the Uk since it was launched in Covent Garden in 2013.
It will be the brand’s second branch within a travel hub – joining the one in Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal.
While most of Shake Shack’s UK sites are based in London, in recent years bosses have expanded into other locations – including Essex, Oxford and Cardiff.
Shake Shack’s humble beginnings trace back to a New York hot dog cart helmed by Randy Garutti.
The now director of operations for Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group boasts 430 restaurants worldwide.
It comes as Wingstop, which currently runs 39 sites across the UK, was set to open a further 15 in 2024.
Lemon Pepper Holdings, which runs the fast food chain’s UK portfolio, said the move would create up to 750 jobs.
The US hospitality brand said it is its biggest year of expansion since launching Wingstop in the UK six years ago.
It also revealed the locations of nine sites out of 15 which will open this year. Six of the sites are still under negotiation.
It’s not just US-owned chains set to open branches in the UK either.
Last week, major retailer WHSmith announced plans to open 15 new stores across the UK.
But the new sites won’t be opening on the high street, and instead will be pulling up shutters in airports, railway stations and hospitals.
B&M is also opening 17 new locations in January and February, including in former Wilko stores.
Asda also plans to open 21 new locations before the end of the month as well.
But other brands not so lucky are shutting their branches for good.
KFC has confirmed the closure of its Linthorpe Road restaurant in Middlesbrough.
The chain has been operating from the premises on Linthorpe Road since 2015.
What about other closures?
MANY restaurant chains have been struggling to survive since Covid shut down the hospitality industry.
Since then, rising energy costs and rents have just made it harder for businesses to bounce back.
Shoppers just don’t have the spare cash to spend on eating out after covering the basic cost of living such as rent and food.
This year has already seen many restaurants and pubs close down for good.
Tony Rodd, an ex-Masterchef finalist closed his restaurant “immediately” after its monthly energy bill tripled to an eye-watering sum.
Also, celebrity chef Simon Rimmer announced that he had made the heartbreaking decision to close his restaurant after 33 years.
A seaside chippy with the “best fish and chips in the world” also shut down for good after 62 years in the business.
Meanwhile, a family-favourite pizza chain revealed exclusively to The Sun it would be closing as many as 100 locations.
It is not only hospitality struggling either, retailers are having it as equally tough with stores disappearing from the high street weekly.
Retailers including Co-op, Clintons and HMV will all welcome in customers for the final time within weeks.
We have a full list of major high street retailers set to close 10 stores between then by the end of the month.
