Chapter 42: The Crab Burger Empire
New York. Madison Square Garden. The Shake Shack burger location.
The burger joint, which had only opened last year, was doing unusually brisk business. Today, Tommy Vercetti and Jin were meeting there.
"It's very ordinary, nowhere near as delicious as I imagined," Jin commented, taking a thoughtful bite of her burger. She frowned slightly. Ever since she tasted the incredibly delicious Crab Burger that Tommy made, her palate had been fundamentally elevated. Now, ordinary fast-food burgers were almost unpalatable. For Shake Shack to receive an "ordinary" rating from her was already a testament to its quality.
After a simple taste test, Jin set the burger down. She wasn't here to eat, but to conduct serious business: she needed to investigate Shake Shack's highly unusual business model. In a standard fast-food restaurant, even a major chain like McDonald's, twenty dollars could completely fill you up. But not here. At Shake Shack, it was difficult to feel half-full for twenty dollars; a full meal would cost at least fifty dollars.
Yet, these high prices did nothing to deter consumers. On the contrary, large crowds of diners were drawn here, compelled by the desire to taste what the so-called "healthy burger" was truly all about.
Tommy Vercetti understood their feelings perfectly. This phenomenon was no different from the internet-famous, trendy shops he'd seen in his previous life. People came here not primarily for the taste, but for the brand and the trend. Shake Shack capitalized brilliantly on this psychology, packaging itself as a high-end, responsible brand and promoting the concept of green health to attract a wider, more affluent consumer base.
"What do you think the future of this store will be?" Tommy asked, finishing his own meal, unlike Jin.
"It's hard to say." Jin didn't answer immediately; after a moment of intense contemplation, she gave her measured response. She felt that while Shake Shack's business was currently booming, no one could be sure how long this novelty could survive. After all, their ingredients were costly: it was widely advertised that every beef patty was made from 100% antibiotic-free Angus beef. The vegetables in the burgers were also sourced from fresh organic farms. They also spent substantial effort and money on rigorous employee training. Due to these sky-high costs, the store's profits were worrying in its first year, almost operating at a loss. It was only this year that business truly improved, and they slowly began to turn a profit.
Because of this inherent risk, Jin had reservations. Compared to the untested model of Shake Shack, she hoped Tommy would adopt the established, proven business model of KFC. KFC had already achieved massive, undeniable success, while Shake Shack was still a relative newcomer; its long-term future was hard to predict.
Unlike Jin, Tommy Vercetti was extremely optimistic about the restaurant's future. With the benefit of his past life's experience, he knew exactly what the future of this company would look like: amidst widespread market pessimism, Shake Shack's business would continue to thrive, eventually going public with a total market capitalization reaching tens of billions of dollars. This, of course, couldn't compare to the industry behemoth, McDonald's. But then again, McDonald's didn't rely solely on fast-food sales to make money—its primary focus was shrewd real estate projects. Compared to other industry peers, Shake Shack's success was already considered very impressive.
It was precisely because of this known trajectory that Tommy Vercetti intended to open his own burger shop, modeled after the structure and marketing of Shake Shack, before the chain fully rose to prominence.
This hadn't been his initial choice. Before he came to New York, he still planned to build his brand recognition through affordable prices and delicious food, continuously opening branches and quickly capturing the market share. But after arriving in New York, he realized this path was likely not feasible. A full afternoon of investigation yesterday confirmed that New York City was saturated with fast-food restaurants. You could see a different brand almost every short distance, and the intensity of the competition was staggering, shocking Tommy.
Of course, Tommy knew that with the unparalleled deliciousness of the Crab Burger, he could certainly make a name for himself. But the problem was, he would have to expend far too much time and energy fighting tooth and nail for every small market gain. He hadn't forgotten that his fundamental goal was to gain more power and points; putting all his energy into commercial dealings would be putting the cart before the horse—an act only a fool would commit.
Therefore, after careful deliberation, Tommy decided to imitate Shake Shack. As the saying goes, walk others' paths, leaving them no path to take. With memories from his previous life, he knew exactly how Shake Shack succeeded. Moreover, he had experienced the era of clustered internet-famous shops. While "internet-famous" had gradually become a derogatory term, that was mainly because those shops focused solely on marketing and lacked any true, quality substance.
But Tommy was different. He possessed the ancestral secret recipe for the Delicious Crab Burger; this was his undisputed trump card. During his years in Italy, he relied on this recipe to make the prison restaurant business flourish. He believed that after coming to New York, it would be just as popular, if not more so.
Jin didn't understand why Tommy had such immense confidence. But she was his assistant, and at most, she could only offer her suggestions and concerns. The true major decisions still had to be made by Tommy Vercetti himself.
"The storefront we're interested in can be purchased directly. Let's get the renovation started first. Don't worry about the cost—we must strive for a genuinely high-end direction."
As Tommy Vercetti spoke, Jin quickly took meticulous notes in a small notebook.
"We also need to acquire a transportation company, a food processing plant, and of course, ranches and farms cannot be left out of the supply chain."
"Boss, that's going to cost an astronomical amount of money," Jin said, her voice laced with worry. Tommy Vercetti's steps were too big, far grander than she could have possibly imagined. She wasn't even sure if she, a fresh-faced student, had the ability to complete these numerous, complex tasks. After all, she hadn't even finished law school and had little practical business experience. In the business world, she was still a complete newcomer.
"Boss, with so much work, I'm afraid I can't handle it alone," she admitted frankly. "It would be best to find a few more capable helpers. If possible, I have a few trustworthy classmates I can recommend."
"You don't need to introduce anyone to me." Tommy Vercetti reached across the table and held Jin's hand, his expression sincere and his attitude earnest. "You don't need to introduce anyone to me. Besides you, I don't trust anyone else. You don't even realize how much energy and capability is hidden within you."
Jin's eyes moistened slightly. Although she knew that her uncle's introduction had played a key role, she was still deeply moved and touched by Tommy Vercetti's serious trust and confidence in her.
Of course, Tommy Vercetti did this also because Jin was young—only in her early 20s—and had no other major relatives around, making her unattached and unburdened. Such a young Jin could be influenced and constantly transformed by him, slowly becoming the perfectly loyal, capable asset he wanted her to be. Looking at Jin's current, emotional expression, Tommy knew he had made the right decision; this was the correct, most efficient path to securing loyal personnel.
At a nearby table, two customers were loudly devouring their burgers. After overhearing Tommy Vercetti and Jin's audacious business ideas, one of them couldn't help but mutter loudly to his friend.
"Pfft, how ridiculous. Just eating a burger at Shake Shack, and they really think they're some kind of big shot CEO?"
"Hey, Lama, keep your voice down!"
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