Someone compared Shake Shack prices in Canada and NYC and they're surprising

Canada’s first Shake Shack debuted across from Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square on Thursday morning, with swarms of hungry guests lining up to get their hands on the US chain’s famed burgers, crinkle-cut fries and frozen custard milkshakes for the first time here at home.

Amid all the hungry excitement for the brand’s arrival north of the border, the chatter about the lineups, and the reviews of the exclusive menu items, there were some unexpected opinions about Shake Shack’s Canadian pricing.

People lining up in the sun for the opening of Toronto’s first Shake Shack! 📍 10 Dundas Street E pic.twitter.com/IRRIPWyxnn

— blogTO (@blogTO) June 13, 2024

Though residents of most cities in the US and elsewhere in the world arguably have it better than those of us in Toronto when it comes to things like grocery and housing costs, customers seem to feel that Shake Shack’s TO outpost actually has very reasonable pricing.

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One person decided to crunch the numbers, comparing the price of each item on the menu in Toronto and in the restaurant’s home in New York City.

They shared a chart of their findings with dollar conversions to Reddit on opening day, which left most people pleasantly surprised (itself surprising given how much Toronto loves to complain and usually has a right to).

Shake Shack Toronto vs. NYC Prices (OC)
byu/anotherbikethiefTO intoronto

Many commented that the prices are not bad at all, and definitely not as bad as they expected. Most items actually look to be cheaper here than they are in NYC once all figures are changed into CAD amounts.

Only Shake Shack’s chicken bites (both six and 10-piece) are less expensive in New York than in Toronto, with most other items around C$2 less here in the 6ix.

But some did question whether Canadian partners may have “skimped out on quality to keep pricing in check” and also brought up New York City’s notoriously high salaries that help locals pay for its greater cost of living.

The minimum wage in New York state is now US$16, or around C$22 an hour, compared to C$16.55 per hour in Ontario (which is being bumped to C$17.20 in October).

One person also wondered if the current prices would be short-lived, as so many costs in this city tend to creep up.

“They’ll keep the prices low to start to grow the following but will gradually raise them. Pretty common for most new restaurants,” they commented. Others contended this prediction, saying that in their opinion, “food is just kind of more expensive in the US in general,” something that is again offset by higher incomes.