Shake Shack Founder Reveals His 2 Best Career Decisions That Led to IPO
See what he said about his success.
— -- The founder and CEO of Shake Shack are on a high as the New York-based food chain's stock soars in its IPO today.
Danny Meyer, Shake Shack founder and Union Square Hospitality Group founder, said today's event was the culmination of a 30-year journey that began when he opened Union Square Cafe at age 27. At the time, his family wanted him to be a lawyer.
Meyer told ABC News' chief business and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis the two smartest choices he's made since then.
"Number one was firing myself as chef three weeks before Union Square Cafe opened," he said. "I wouldn't be here today if I had kept being the chef.
"And the second one kind of relates to that. And it's really surrounding myself with people who know how to do things I don't know how to do in my wildest dreams: people like Randy -- people who run Union Square Hospitality Group. I get to be a coach and a cheerleader and a visionary. I love food. I love making people happy with food."
Shares of "SHAK" on the New York Stock Exchange were trading above $48 a share mid-day.
The company priced its IPO above expectations with a valuation of $745.5 million. Shake Shack raised $105 million, with 5 million shares at $21 each.
"We honestly thought we'd sell a couple hot dogs," CEO Randy Garutti said. "Shake Shack was born as a humble hot dog cart to raise money for a park. And three years later Shake Shack was born. And here we are ten years later, never imagining that we would ever be in a place like this. And we're acting today exactly how we acted [for] that first Chicago-style hot dog. We're doing one hot dog, one burger at a time."
The company is planning to open ten new restaurants a year for the foreseeable future, with plans for Austin, Texas, this year.