Shake Shack (2001-2004)
Restaurateur Danny Meyer opened a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in 2001 to help fund an art installation. Lines swelled so much that the city backed a permanent kiosk, which opened in 2004.
The kiosk grew into a full fast-casual restaurant and later a chain with hundreds of locations.
Shake Shack became a standard example of validating demand with a temporary operation before building a permanent one.
Scrappie's is running the same playbook: building a loyal customer base at pop-ups before committing to a leased storefront.
