Shake Shack opened Friday, Oct. 2, at 7535 Old Georgetown Road in downtown Bethesda, according to MoCo Show. The opening came after months of delays pushed the original June date back four times.

The 3,500-square-foot restaurant occupies the former SunTrust Bank space on the ground floor of the Element 28 apartment building, steps from the Bethesda Metro station. It sits next to Thai café Sweeteria, PopUp Bagels and Chipotle.

The location is Shake Shack's fourth in Montgomery County, joining existing restaurants in Gaithersburg's Kentlands neighborhood, Westfield Montgomery Mall and Cabin John Village in Potomac. Cabin John was the county's first Shake Shack when it opened in 2018. The Bethesda store is also the chain's 11th in Maryland, Bethesda Magazine reported.

Getting here took a while.

The restaurant originally announced a June 24 opening date. That slipped to August, then Sept. 17, then Sept. 30. Customers who showed up on Sept. 30 found a sign directing them to come back Oct. 2, according to Bethesda blogger Robert Dyer. Inside, workers were still training. By late July, the interior fit-out was already complete, with seating and ordering kiosks in place and neon signage lit, drawing curious passersby to peer through the windows.

@RedskinsTerps: "When is Shake Shack in Bethesda going to open? I'm sure it's permitting issues just like Pop Up Bagels. Ridiculous."

That Sept. 28 post on X summed up the online mood as the project dragged on. Shake Shack secured a $980,000 interior build-out permit for the space in late 2025, according to MoCo Show, and appeared before Montgomery County Alcohol Beverage Services for a liquor license hearing in June.

On opening day, the first wave of guests received custom Shake Shack tote bags. The chain also pledged to donate $1 for every sandwich sold at the Bethesda location on Oct. 2 to KID Museum, a Bethesda nonprofit that runs hands-on STEM programs for children and teens.

Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.