Shake Shack, the New York-based burger chain that already has taken on an IPO and a global expansion, now might be looking to take on chicken.
A trademark application from a company called SSE IP, LLC—which is reported to be a subsidiary of Shake Shack—was filed in the US on April 20 for rights to the name “Chicken Shack,” and Shake Shack shares have been surging since news of the application started making the rounds this week.
The application doesn’t include a logo or a new design for a “Chicken Shack” restaurant, and it doesn’t give much information on what the shops would be selling, beyond “chicken sandwiches.”
Shake Shack officials weren’t immediately available to comment on its chicken aspirations, or whether the trademark application is indeed tied to Shake Shack. But even without a Shake Shack Chicken Shack, there’s already a lot of competition for the Chicken Shack name. It turns out Chicken Shack is a pretty common name for chicken restaurants around the world—as well as the name for a British blues band, of all things.
Shake Shack has 63 locations in the US and globally, and a stock market value of $3.3 billion. Each Shake Shack franchise location is reportedly worth over $50 million—about five times as much as the average Chipotle franchise.
The company’s original location, an actual shack in New York’s Madison Square Park, reopened this week to massive queues. It’s uncertain how much longer the lines would be if the store starts selling chicken sandwiches as well, or if anyone in New York would ever return from their lunch breaks ever again.
The image above was taken by Eric Chan and shared under a Creative Commons license on Flickr.