Brett Grey, general manager of the Shake Shack in Boca Raton, Fla., with recycled plastic picnic table

When you visit the Shake Shack in Boca Raton, Fla., and view the cool architecture, the welcome open space inside and the recycled plastic picnic tables on the patio, you quickly realize this is not your ordinary burger joint.

Not at all. Just look at the hamburger menu for example. The first thing they tell you is that these burgers are made with 100% all natural Angus beef. There are no hormones, antibiotics and the bread is not made from any Frankensteinish genetically-modified wheat. Everything is made with real ingredients.

Secondly, if you look further down the menu, even though this is an international food chain, there are locally-named frozen custards called Glades Donuts and Mizner's Muse. Names that only local residents will recognize. Not only do these frozen custards have neighborhood references, but 5% from the sale of Glades Donuts supports the local Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.

Hmm, you don't see that on many menus.

"Our goal is to fit into the community as much as possible," said Brett Grey, general manager of the Shake Shack in Boca.

Shake Shack Boca Raton locatio

There's more. The restaurant will frequently donate to local causes. They make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the homeless. They support local events at Boca High School or Florida Atlantic University. If a local non-profit needs help, they try to pitch in somehow.

In fact, Shake Shack's motto is "Stand for Something Good." That doesn't mean just serving great burgers, chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, fries and frozen custards. That also means participating in charitable activities.

"It's genuine. Its helps the community and also helps us," said Brett. "And my team loves doing stuff like that. It's like a gift we give to them."

This philosophy emanates from the reason why the first Shake Shack was ever created. Popular New York City restaurateur Danny Meyer was planning to open a few restaurants near Madison Square Park in central Manhattan, but noticed the area had fallen into hard times.

To help the Madison Square Park Conservancy which was trying to revitalize the area, Meyer opened up a hot dog cart. He lost money for two years but served up a menu based on fun treats that Meyer enjoyed as a child growing up in St. Louis - Fitz's Root Beer and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. Rather than focus on profits, he emphasized quality ingredients and great service.

In a place like New York City where perhaps these two items are taken for granted, the hot dog cart soon became a hit. When the conservancy decided to open a food kiosk at the park, they awarded the spot to Meyer. Just like Seinfeld's fictitious soup chef, the lines at the Shake Shack soon became epic.

Meyer's decided to open another Shake Shack nearby just to relieve the demand at the first one. The rest is culinary history. In January of 2015, the company launched an IPO. The price doubled the first day and the company is now valued at more than $1 billion. There are Shake Shacks going up all over the country and even overseas including locations in Japan, the Middle East, Russia, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Shake Shack is crushing the "better burger" category.  Seems like a simple formula - serve great, wholesome burgers and help out your neighbors. But, not every business thinks this way.

There's also another ingredient behind the company's success. Something they call, "enlightened hospitality."

That hospitality doesn't start with the customers, but with making sure the managers and employees are happy. When the staff is turned on, Shake Shack believes employees will then go out of their way to satisfy customers.

Shake Shack sloga

"They (corporate management) focus on quality of life for the managers and the staff," said Brett. "They do everything they can to benefit our team and the guests. Because of that, our employees love to work here."

"Stand for Something Good" goes beyond customers and the community. The Shake Shack managers are also fervent believers in recycling and protecting the environment.

In their outdoor dining area in Boca Raton, they provide nearly a dozen long recycled plastic picnic tables (supplied by The Park Catalog.) These picnic tables are made from recycled milk jugs and plastic bottles that are collected and then ground down into pure plastic scrap.

 

Shake Shack recycled plastic benche

The material is then processed into sturdy planks used in these picnic tables. This is critical because it completes the recycling loop seen in the universal recycling symbol with the three arrows: Gather discarded plastic, Manufacture with the recycled materials and then Purchase products made with the recycled plastic scrap. Total reuse of the earth's resources.

Their trash is also sorted for recyclables. One percent of the sales of their Shack 02 bottled water is donated for the cleanup of water resources.

That's how you create a sustainable planet.

"These recycled plastic picnic tables are right in line with our company's commitment to the environment and recycling," Brett added.

Rather than a cookie cutter approach to their "fast casual" type restaurants, every building is unique. Some are built in train stations. One is built in the N.Y. Mets Stadium which the baseball players demanded.

The Boca Raton office on Glades Road has a very unique, sleek architecture. It's surrounded by plants and the green logo tells you, this hamburger stand is different. Wholesome. Interesting.

But walk inside. Talk to the staff. Check out the menu. Order an all-natural, cage-free Chick'n Shack sandwich with crinkle cut fries made from Yukon potatoes and a Mizner Muse vanilla custard with cheesecake blondie, strawberry puree and cinnamon marshmallow sauce.

You'll quickly get the picture (and so will your taste buds). This place is not your run-of-the-mill burger venue.