Shake Shack is an iconic institution, one with an empire that has expanded far beyond the humble hot dog cart at Madison Square Park in New York City, where it started. Boasting one of the best-ranked fast food burgers in the business, its rise through the world of hot-and-ready chains has gone off with very few hitches. There is one place the company ran into trouble, though: its buns.
Now, you might be wondering, “How controversial can burger buns really be?” It turns out that the owners of Martin’s Potato Rolls, which the company relies on to complement its never-frozen burgers, are big-time donors to Pennsylvania’s 2022 gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano — in fact, former company president Jim Martin was Mastriano’s top donor. Between him and his wife Donna, the people behind the delicious bread have given over $120,000 to Mastriano’s various campaigns since 2021.
If you’re unfamiliar with Pennsylvania politics, Mastriano is a state senator who has drawn significant attention for his denial of the 2020 presidential election results. This includes allegedly conspiring with Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani to spread false claims of voter fraud and using campaign funds to attend and help organize the January 6, 2021, rally that turned into an attack on the Capitol — activities for which he was subpoenaed by Congress. He also came under fire for paying $5,000 to the alt-right social media platform Gab, which is known as a hotbed for extreme antisemitic and Christian nationalist content, as well as for his hardline anti-abortion stance. He lost his governor’s race to Josh Shapiro but remains a state senator, a position he has held since 2019.
Calls for boycotts and Shake Shack’s response
When the Martin family’s support of Doug Mastriano became public knowledge, several prominent restaurants with ties to Martin’s decided to end their partnerships, and many members of the culinary world called for boycotts of the brand — including prominent cookbook author J. Kenji López-Alt, who wrote in an Instagram post, “This is no joke. This is not small town local politics. This affects [Pennsylvania] gubernatorial elections, which plays a pivotal role in [U.S.] presidential elections.”
López-Alt had previously been a major fan of the brand’s products, which he considered the best store-bought burger buns. This makes sense, as potato buns have come to be known as the best bread for burgers and greasy sandwiches — despite the fact that, with their high sugar content, they are among the most unhealthy store-bought breads.
Despite the many places that severed ties with Martin’s Potato Rolls, Shake Shack was not one of them. “In regards to the actions of individuals associated with the Martin’s company and their personal political donations … those are the choices of those individuals and do not express the values of Shake Shack,” the company told CNN. “We continue to be in active conversations with Martin’s to express our concern.” However, that seems to have been the end of the discussion, at least as far as the public is concerned.
