Why Shake Shack Had Its Biggest Year Ever in 2015

The year in IPOs, expansions, ChickenShacks, and more.

Ten years after unleashing its first "roadside"-style hamburger upon New York City's Madison Square Park, Shake Shack is a bone fide phenomenon. And in 2015, more than just ShackBurger acolytes were paying attention. On December 29, 2014, Shake Shack filed plans with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to take its beloved brand public, announcing a $100 million public offering. In the following weeks, the New York-based chain saw its first days of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, setting in motion a new way to consume Shack.

"It was a cold day in January, and there were thousands of people that came and celebrated with us," says Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti, reminiscing about how he and co-founder Danny Meyer spent Shack's January 30 opening day on the NYSE. "We changed the ticker on the top of the famous New York Stock Exchange to say the 'New York Shack Exchange.' It was amazing." Shack's stock price soared to as high as $92 this year; its low point, coming last week, saw the shares close at $37.50.

But even without Wall Street's attention, Shake Shack's had its biggest year ever. According to data provided by discovery app Foursquare, Shake Shack's share of all burger restaurant visits in the U.S. outperformed the previous year, even as its stateside market share decreased from the beginning to end of 2015. From international expansions to a local phenomenon known as "ChickenShack" (and all the speculation that came along with it), here's a look back at the year in Shack:

The Year in Shake Shack, 2015

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