Black Tap

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer is an international gourmet burger restaurant chain founded in New York City in 2015 by restaurateur Chris Barish. The concept began as a small 15-seat restaurant and developed around a combination of craft burgers, beer, American diner-inspired hospitality, and visually elaborate milkshakes. Its name refers to the black tap handles commonly associated with craft beer service. The brand's identity is centered on indulgent, highly photogenic food. Its best-known offering is the CrazyShake®, a line of oversized milkshakes decorated with toppings such as cookies, candy, cake, cream, and other confectionery elements. Black Tap owns the CrazyShake trademark and has used the format as a distinctive part of its brand recognition. Flavors have included Cookies 'N Cream Supreme, Strawberry Shortcake, and The Cakeshake®, alongside market-specific creations developed for individual locations. Black Tap's core savory menu is built around gourmet burgers and related American comfort-food items. The restaurant presents burgers as craft products rather than as a conventional fast-food commodity, pairing them with fries, shakes, and a beer-oriented beverage program. The concept has retained a recognizable New York-inspired identity while adapting selected offerings and shake designs to local markets. The brand received early recognition at the New York City Wine & Food Festival's Burger Bash, where it won the People's Choice Award in 2015. In 2016, Time Out named Black Tap the recipient of its People's Choice award for Best Burger. These awards helped reinforce the restaurant's positioning within New York's competitive burger scene. Black Tap expanded outside the United States during the late 2010s. It opened in Singapore in 2018 and subsequently developed an international presence across the Middle East, Europe, and additional American cities. Reported locations have included New York neighborhoods such as Midtown, SoHo, and Herald Square, as well as Las Vegas, Anaheim, Dallas, and Nashville in the United States; Geneva and Zürich in Switzerland; Singapore; and locations in Dubai, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Erbil, and Saudi Arabia. The chain opened a Nashville location in May 2023, which was later associated with a Nashville Scene Best Burger award. For international operations, Black Tap has emphasized consistency in key ingredients and brand standards. In Singapore, for example, the chain continued importing United States beef for its burgers and candies from the United States for its shakes. At the same time, the brand has allowed local-market customization, particularly in shake concepts and toppings. This balance between standardized core products and localized presentation is central to its international restaurant model. Black Tap has also benefited from popular-culture visibility. Public figures including The Weeknd, Joe Jonas, Kate Hudson, and Katie Holmes have been reported as customers or supporters of the brand. Such visibility complements the visual appeal of the CrazyShake line and supports Black Tap's social-media-oriented, destination-restaurant positioning. The available reference material does not establish a separate publicly listed parent company, ownership structure, or current executive team beyond Chris Barish's role as the restaurateur running the chain.

Black Tap was established in New York City in 2015 by restaurateur Chris Barish. The first restaurant was a compact 15-seat venue, reflecting the intimate scale of the original concept. The name was derived from the black tap handles associated with craft beer, signaling the brand's intended combination of beer culture, burgers, and a contemporary New York restaurant sensibility. From the beginning, Black Tap's menu and identity emphasized gourmet burgers rather than traditional mass-market fast food. The concept paired burgers with craft beer and other American comfort-food elements, while giving unusual prominence to dessert. Its decorated milkshakes became the brand's most recognizable visual feature. These drinks, later branded as CrazyShake®, were oversized and covered with elaborate combinations of cookies, candy, cake, cream, and other toppings. Black Tap owns the CrazyShake trademark and developed named varieties including Cookies 'N Cream Supreme, Strawberry Shortcake, and The Cakeshake®. The format helped distinguish the restaurants in a crowded burger market and made the product particularly suitable for customer photography and social sharing. The brand gained external recognition soon after launch. In 2015, it won the People's Choice Award at the New York City Wine & Food Festival's Burger Bash. In 2016, Time Out reported that Black Tap had received its People's Choice award for Best Burger. These accolades strengthened its reputation in New York and supported expansion beyond the original small-format restaurant. Black Tap subsequently developed a network of locations in New York City, including restaurants in Midtown, SoHo, and Herald Square. It also expanded elsewhere in the United States, with reported locations in Las Vegas, Anaheim, Dallas, and later Nashville. The chain's international development began with Singapore in 2018. In that market, Black Tap reportedly continued importing United States beef for its burgers and United States candy for its shakes in an effort to preserve product consistency. The brand nevertheless adapted some shake offerings and designs to local preferences, creating a model that combined standardized core ingredients with market-specific menu presentation. The international footprint later included Switzerland, with locations in Geneva and Zürich, and several Middle Eastern markets, including Dubai, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Erbil, and Saudi Arabia. The available reference material identifies Black Tap as an international chain but does not provide a complete location chronology, franchise structure, ownership breakdown, or financial record for each market. In May 2023, Black Tap opened a location in Nashville. That restaurant was associated with Nashville Scene's Best Burger award, extending the brand's pattern of local burger recognition. Black Tap has also received attention through celebrity patronage or endorsement, with The Weeknd, Joe Jonas, Kate Hudson, and Katie Holmes among the public figures reported in connection with the restaurants. By the latest information in the supplied references, Black Tap remains an active restaurant brand. Its business model is based on premium-casual burger dining, craft-beer associations, destination locations, and highly distinctive dessert beverages. The CrazyShake line functions as both a menu category and a central brand asset, while the burger menu provides the core product proposition. Beyond Chris Barish's role as founder and restaurateur, the references do not establish a definitive list of current or former executives, a publicly traded parent, or a separate corporate headquarters.

• 2023

  Nashville location opens

  [1]Black Tapen.wikipedia.org

  Black Tap opened a Nashville restaurant in May and was linked with Nashville Scene's Best Burger award.

• 2018

  International expansion begins in Singapore

  [1]Black Tapen.wikipedia.org

  Black Tap opened its first reported Singapore location and maintained selected United States-sourced ingredients for the market.

• 2016

  Time Out Best Burger recognition

  [1]Black Tapen.wikipedia.org

  Black Tap received Time Out's People's Choice award for Best Burger.

• 2015

  Black Tap is founded in New York City

  [1]Black Tapen.wikipedia.org

  Chris Barish founded Black Tap as a 15-seat restaurant focused on craft burgers, beer, and an urban New York dining experience.

• 2015

  Burger Bash recognition

  [1]Black Tapen.wikipedia.org

  Black Tap won the People's Choice Award at the New York City Wine & Food Festival's Burger Bash.

A premium-casual, experience-led burger restaurant combining craft burgers and beer with oversized, social-media-friendly dessert shakes.

• Main dishes · 2015

  Craft burgers

  Black Tap's core savory offering is a range of gourmet burgers served in a premium-casual restaurant setting. The burgers form the foundation of the concept and are paired with fries, craft beer, and indulgent shakes. The brand presents them as crafted restaurant dishes rather than standard fast-food items, while retaining a recognizably American burger format.

• Dessert beverages

  CrazyShake®

  CrazyShake® is Black Tap's signature line of oversized, elaborately decorated milkshakes. The drinks are distinguished by heavy toppings and theatrical presentation, often combining ice cream, whipped cream, cookies, candy, cake, and other confectionery elements. Black Tap owns the trademark and uses the line as a major visual and experiential expression of the brand.

• CrazyShake® flavor

  Cookies 'N Cream Supreme

  Cookies 'N Cream Supreme is one of the named CrazyShake® varieties associated with Black Tap. It follows the brand's indulgent format by combining a milkshake base with a substantial cookies-and-cream confectionery presentation.

• CrazyShake® flavor

  Strawberry Shortcake

  Strawberry Shortcake is a named Black Tap shake built around the dessert flavors and visual cues of strawberry shortcake. It belongs to the brand's highly decorated milkshake range and illustrates its practice of translating familiar desserts into signature beverages.

• CrazyShake® flavor

  The Cakeshake®

  The Cakeshake® is a cake-oriented CrazyShake® creation. Its presentation emphasizes the oversized, celebratory dessert format for which Black Tap is known, making the shake function as both a beverage and a visually distinctive dessert experience.

• 2018

  Maintain United States ingredient sourcing in SingaporeStrategy

  Background

  As Black Tap entered Singapore, the chain sought to preserve consistency with its United States restaurants and its established product identity.

  Action taken

  The Singapore operation continued importing United States beef for burgers and candy from the United States for its milkshakes, according to the supplied reference.

  Aftermath

  The decision supported the chain's quality-control approach while Black Tap continued expanding internationally and adapting selected offerings for local markets.

  Source

• 2020.01.27

  Reported2020.01.27

  Black Tap launches its first vegan CakeShake[2]Black Tap 推出首款纯素 CakeShakevegnews.com

  Black Tap added its first vegan CakeShake, the Vegan Black ’N White CakeShake, to the menu at its locations in the United States and several international markets.

Read more

1. 1Black Tapen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Black Tap 推出首款纯素 CakeShakevegnews.com