Steak 'n Shake Operations, Inc.,doing business asSteak 'n Shake, is an American fast food chain concentrated primarily in theMidwestern United States along with locations in the rest of the country plus locations in Western Europe. The company is headquartered inIndianapolis, Indiana, and is a wholly owned subsidiary ofBiglari Holdings.[5]
The menu features primarily burgers and hand-dippedmilkshakes; other entrees, side items, and drinks are also available. The corporation's slogan, "Famous for Steakburgers", refers to its most prominent food item, the Steakburger. The "steak" in the restaurant name comes from the menu item. Most restaurant locations havedrive-thru, in addition to indoor dining.
In 2018, there were 628 Steak 'n Shake restaurants. Of those, 414 were corporate-owned, and 214 franchised. The company has since attempted to convert to a fully franchised model.[6]
In 2021, the company had 536 locations, but the number dropped to 493 by March 31, 2023, according to Biglari Holdings; not all of those were in operation at that time.[7] The company has shifted away from full-service restaurants toward a drive-thru model and kiosk service.[8][9]
By the end of 2024, the company had 426 company-operated and franchise locations in 26 states plus the District of Columbia. The company had also retreated from many of the states that it had expanded into during the first two decades of the 21st century.[3]
A. H. "Gus" Belt (born inJerseyville, Illinois) founded Steak 'n Shake inNormal, Illinois, in February 1934, after serving four years in the United States Marine Corps. He converted the combinationgas station andchicken restaurant that he owned (Shell's Chicken) into a hamburger stand.[2]
Steak 'n Shake's slogan, "In Sight, It Must Be Right", originally referred to Belt's practice of wheeling a barrel of T-bone, sirloin, and round steaks into the public area of his restaurant, then grinding them into burgers in front of his customers[2]—it was intended to reassure customers of the product's wholesomeness as at the time, ground beef was still viewed with skepticism by the general public, based on the likelihood of its having impurities deliberately added to it.
It also assured Belt's customers of the veracity of his "Steakburger" claim. Later patrons were assured that Steakburgers were still made from these ingredients "at our own commissary" for shipment to the restaurants, where the open grill line remained "in sight" to customers.
After having success, Belt purchased a chain of Goal Post restaurants throughoutcentral Illinois, converting them to Steak 'n Shakes[when?] and added curb service.[2]
The original building at the intersection of Main Street and West Virginia Avenue was damaged by a fire in the early 1960s but was repaired and its dining room expanded. In the late 1990s, Steak 'n Shake sold the building to theMonical's Pizza company.
Steak 'n Shake continued to expand throughoutIllinois following Belt's death on August 20, 1954.[1] Ownership passing through many hands, including Gus's wife Edith, who ran the chain until 1969; Longchamps, Inc., an East Coaststeakhouse company that owned the chain from 1969[10] to 1971;[11] and Indianapolis-based Franklin Corporation, led by Robert Cronin, author ofSelling Steakburgers: The Growth of a Corporate Culture. After the acquisition, Franklin moved Steak 'n Shake's headquarters from Normal, Illinois toIndianapolis.
In 1981, Steak 'n Shake and its parent company Franklin were acquired by E. W. Kelley and Associates;[12] the chairmanE. W. "Ed" Kelley led the restaurant chain until he died on July 4, 2003.[2]
EntrepreneurSardar Biglari took control of Steak 'n Shake in August 2008 after three years of declining same-store sales and losses of $100,000 per day. He led a turnaround which resulted in 24 straight quarters of increases in same-store sales and profits of $100,000 per day.[13][unreliable source?] He focused the brand on burgers, fries and milkshakes, reducing the menu from eight pages to a bi-fold.[14] However the chain ran into more problems in 2016 and onward, with revenue declining sharply.[15] Reasons included under-investment in the restaurants after the deep price cuts of 2008; competition from "fast casual" restaurants likeChipotle which aimed for a more high-class experience; and two expensive lawsuits from former managers who accused the chain of misclassifying them as salaried employees and refusing to pay earned overtime.[15]
In 2018, Steak 'n Shake changed its business model to afranchise partner system, with Biglari attempting to turn all of the 400+ company-owned restaurants into franchise operations. Entrepreneurial single-unit operators could take control of an existing Steak 'n Shake for $10,000, an unusually low price, but were required to give the company 50% of the restaurant's profits.[16] Even though it offered the new franchise inducement, the firm remained heavily indebted. As of April 2020, its debt was rated as a low C/D "speculative" grade (colloquially known asjunk bonds) by bond rating agencies.The Washington Post considered the chain to be extremely likely to default with a low likelihood of recovering, with the restaurant closings due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United States being an unrecoverable blow to the firm.[17]
In 2021, Steak N' Shake made a strategic decision to transition away from casual dining and become a fast food restaurant. Steak 'n Shake replaced lunch counters with self-serve kiosks in 2021 to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The chain estimated that remodeling and adding kiosks to each restaurant would cost between $100,000 and $200,000. Changing the service model allowed a significant reduction of store staff. According to management, the old casual dining model faced the challenge of long food preparation time and a cost structure that required paying wait staff. Long-term strategy is to empower customers to place and pick up their own orders.
In February 2025, Steak N' Shake announced it would start making fries with 100%beef tallow by March 1.[18] This announcement was later praised publicly by US Health and Human Services SecretaryRobert F. Kennedy Jr., who used it as an example of his "Make America Healthy Again" agenda.[18] In March, Steak N' Shake announced that by April 2, they would switch to 100% Grade A Wisconsin butter to replace their "buttery blend", which contained seed oils.[19]
In May 2025, Steak N' Shake announced it would begin acceptingBitcoin as payment at all U.S. locations,[20] which will eventually include "all international units" at a later date.[21] On May 16, 2025, it began accepting Bitcoin payments at all U.S. locations using theLightning network.[22][23]
Opening of New York City location in 2012, which has since closed
The first Steak 'n Shake in the state of Indiana was opened as adrive-in restaurant in Indianapolis in November 1954.[24] As typical for the era it had offered curb (carhop) service in addition to table service and takeout. At the time, Steak 'n Shake had locations in five states.
Steak 'n Shake began inWisconsin with locations inRacine,Janesville, andMadison in the late 1990s,[29] but all locations closed by 2004.[30] Another franchiser opened locations inWaukesha andWauwatosa in 2007, but both closed by 2010.[31][32] The chain has not returned to the state.
The company enteredOklahoma for the first time by opening a franchise location inEdmond in 2004.[37]
Steak 'n Shake enteredWest Virginia for the first time by opening a franchise location inBarboursville in August 2007.[38]
Steak 'n Shake opened its first location inNevada inside theSouth Point Casino inLas Vegas in July 2010[39] and a second location inReno in July 2013.[40][41] In January 2017, a second Las Vegas location began, the third in Nevada, in the Student Union building on the campus of theUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas[42] followed by a second Reno location, the fourth in Nevada in July 2017.[43]Steak 'n Shake enteredLouisiana for the first time[44] by opening a location nearBaton Rouge inCovington in 2011.[45]The company first enteredColorado via a franchise inDenver in November 2011[46] before the parent company took over the Colorado locations after a lengthy lawsuit between the franchisee and the parent company.In January 2012, they opened their first and only location in thestate of New York onManhattan,[47] adjacent to theEd Sullivan Theater then home to theLate Show with David Letterman. Indiana nativeDavid Letterman, an avid Steak 'n Shake fan frequented the location and often talked about it on his show.[48] The location closed in October 2017, ending the chain's five year presence in the state.[citation needed]The first location inNew Jersey was opened by a franchise holder in September 2012 inParamus.[49] At the beginning of 2016, a second and third location in New Jersey were opened by the same franchisee inWest Windsor Township andHamilton Township;[50] both of those locations quietly disappeared within a year. In September 2017, the original Paramus location, the last location in New Jersey, also closed after a five-year struggle to remain in business.[51]
Opening of first store in Seattle in 2016, now defunct
The first Steak 'n Shake location in the state ofArizona was opened inTempe in October 2013.[52][53] A second Arizona location was open on the campus of theUniversity of Arizona inTucson in July 2017.[54]
The first and only location in the state ofMontana and in the upper plain states, was opened inBillings in December 2013.[55] The restaurant was forced to close after two and a half years in July 2016 due to poor sales that were blamed on "harsh reviews onsocial media".[56]
Steak 'n Shake expanded toCalifornia in July 2014 by opening a location inVictorville.[57][58] ALos Angeles County location was opened inSanta Monica in late October[59][60] and another inBurbank in December of the same year.[61] After a lack of activity for over a year in the highly competitive California marketplace, the company announced in April 2016 it expected to open its firstOrange County location, the fourth in California, inAliso Viejo in mid-May.[62] After a short delay, a fifth California location was opened behind schedule inRiverside in August 2016.[63] In March 2017, a 6th location opened inYucca Valley.[citation needed] After 3.5 years of operation, the Victorville location closed abruptly in February 2018 after receiving an eviction notice for failure to pay rent.[64][65]
In 2015, the company planned a restaurant inNorthern California inCampbell, California, but local residents raised issues and the project was postponed.[66] Because of the delay, the first location in Northern California opened instead inDaly City in November 2016.[67][68][69] The firstCentral California location began operating inFresno in March 2017.[70] A secondSan Francisco Bay Area restaurant was opened on the campus ofSan Jose State University in July 2017.[71] After a two-year delay, the company opened their Campbell location in September 2017.[72] After four months of operation, the Daly City location closed as well as the Campbell location in January 2018.[73] This left the San Jose location on the campus of SJSU as the only store in the Bay Area.[74] After 10 months of operation, the lone Central California location inFresno also closed in January 2018.[75]
In June 2015, the first location inMaryland opened inMillersville.[76] Two years later, the struggling Maryland franchisee filed forvoluntary bankruptcy in June 2017 while still remaining open.[77] The location finally closed in January 2018 after the Circuit Court forAnne Arundel County seized the restaurant for non-payment on loans and taxes. The restaurant and contents were auctioned off by the court on January 31, 2018.[78] Later in the year, the franchise owner was arrested after theFBI filed an indictment against the franchise owner for plotting to kill his wife and to burn the restaurant down in an attempt to receive insurance money for his then failing business.[79] In January 2019, the restaurant reopened under new management.[80] In April 2019, the same franchise owner of the Millersville location announced plans to open a second location inWhite Marsh by the summer of 2019.[81]
In March 2019, Steak 'n Shake announced plans to open its first restaurant inWashington, D.C., inside theRayburn House Office Building to serve House members, staffers, and the public who pass "through security and a metal detector".[85] The location officially opened for business in the first week of September 2019.[86]On January 11, 2021, the first Steak N Shake location in the Des Moines Suburb ofWest Des Moines opened, joining seven other stores inIowa, with strict measures at that time including no eat-in dining to comply with localCOVID-19 pandemic restrictions then in effect.[87]
In October 2012, Steak 'n Shake announced its first international expansion agreement with plans to open forty locations in theUnited Arab Emirates. The first of these locations opened inDubai in 2013,[89] but closed in a little more than a year. Only two out of the original 40 locations planned were ever opened in the UAE. Both closed in January 2015.[90]
The brand also announced in December 2013 a 50-unit franchise agreement inSaudi Arabia with AB Holdings. The first location inRiyadh was expected to open in the first half of 2014.[91] The company's Saudi Arabian website was last active in September 2017.[92]
The first location in the Persian Gulf country ofKuwait was opened in December 2014.[93] This location appeared to have been closed after less than three years of operation.[94]
The first location inQatar opened at the Tawar Mall in November 2017.[95] The fate of the company's only location in Qatar is not known since there has been no verifiable news source has reported on the closing of this location.
By 2025, there are no records of a Steak 'n Shake restaurant operating in West Asia or anywhere in the Arabic speaking world.
Steak 'n Shake with mural byJoana Vasconcelos in Porto, Portugal (2018)
The first two European locations opened inCannes, France, in May 2014[96][97] and on the island ofIbiza inSpain in June 2014.[98]
The second location inFrance was opened inMarseille in December 2014.[99] A third location in France was opened inToulon in April 2016[100] and was quickly followed in June by the openings of a fourth and fifth location inCaen andRueil-Malmaison respectively,[101] in October by the openings of a sixth location at theCité Europe shopping centre inCoquelles,[102] and in November of a seventh location inFenouillet.[103] The eighth and ninth location in France were started inBordeaux[104][105] andAnglet respectively in early 2017.[106] A second location in Marseille was opened in December 2017.[107] A third location inMarseille, the 17th location in France, was opened in May 2018.[108] In June 2025, the company's French website reported that there were X locations in France.[109]
The second location in Spain was opened inMadrid, the capital, in September 2015[110] followed by one inChurra,Murcia, in October 2015.[111] There are no verifiable records when the Spanish locations had closed. The company's Spanish website was last active in January 2019.[112]
The first location inItaly opened inMilan in December 2015.[113] A second location was opened inPeschiera del Garda in May 2016.[114] A third location was opened inCastione Andevenno in September 2016.[115] In June 2025, the company's Italian website reported that there were four locations in Italy.[116]
In July 2016, the first location inPortugal opened inMontijo, nearLisbon[117] (closed in 2023).[citation needed] In June 2025, the company's Portuguese website reported that there were four locations in Portugal.[118]
In December 2016, the first store in theUnited Kingdom opened inChester,Cheshire, England.[119] The only location in the UK was closed 21 months later in August 2018.[120][121]
In 2015, Steak 'n Shake began sponsoring an Indy car for the first time in its 81-year history, a car driven byGraham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.[125]
Between 2010 and 2015, Steak 'n Shake became involved in lawsuits with several of itsfranchisees concerning mandatory menu prices and mandatory food sourcing. As of August 2013[update], five lawsuits had been filed. The first lawsuit began in 2010; it was filed by Stuller, Inc., theIllinois franchisee that is the oldest franchisee in Steak 'n Shake's history. Stuller won apreliminary injunction that went to the7th Circuit Court of Appeals in August 2012.[126] Three more franchisees filed suit in April 2013—Druco Restaurants based inSt. Louis, People Sales & Profit Co. based inGeorgia, and Scott's S&S Inc. inPennsylvania.[127] A settlement was reached with these franchisees in 2014, but terms of the settlement were not made public.[128]
Steak 'n Shake filed suit againstDenver franchisees Larry and Christopher Baerns in July 2013 over the same issues, with a counterclaim soon after.[129] Steak 'n Shake won its lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the Baerns when the judge ruled that the Baerns intentionally overcharged customers.[130] The complaints by the franchisees also question whether Steak 'n Shake promised franchise results that could never actually be achieved under its policies.[131]
286 managers in the St. Louis area filed and won a lawsuit against Steak 'n Shake on grounds that they were misclassified asexempt employees unable to earn overtime.[132] Steak 'n Shake had to pay $7.7 million in damages. They were sued again by an even larger group of 1100+ managers on similar grounds; as of 2019, that case was pending.[15]
^"Annual report"(PDF).www.biglariholdings.com. 2018.Archived(PDF) from the original on February 15, 2020. RetrievedAugust 26, 2020.
^"Beloved Burger Chain Steak 'n Shake Continues Its Closing Spree".Eat This. May 9, 2023.Archived from the original on October 22, 2023. RetrievedJanuary 22, 2024.In 2021 it teetered on the edge of bankruptcy before parent company Biglari Holdings managed to pay off a whopping $153 million in debt.
^"Steak n Shake closed another 30 restaurants last year".Restaurant Business. February 27, 2023.Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. RetrievedJanuary 22, 2024.It was the fourth straight year in which the chain closed more restaurants than it opened, a period in which it shrunk its unit count by 19%.
^Montgomery, Jenna (May 16, 2025)."Jenna Montgomery".NASDAQ.Archived from the original on July 15, 2025. RetrievedMay 19, 2025.
^"Opening Set for Thursday".The Indianapolis Star. November 7, 1954. p. 33.Archived from the original on December 5, 2024. RetrievedDecember 8, 2016 – viaNewspapers.com.Opening of this new Steak 'n Shake drive-in restaurant at 2660 Lafayette Road Thursday morning will mark the first appearance in Indiana of the five-state chain of restaurants. Four more are planned in the area.
^"National Register of Historic Places Listings"(PDF).Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 7/30/12 through 8/03/12. National Park Service. August 10, 2012.Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. RetrievedJune 4, 2025.
^Welborn, Jane (December 4, 1996)."Go Back to '50s at Steak 'n Shake".Greensboro News-Record. p. D1.Archived from the original on December 29, 2016. RetrievedDecember 29, 2016.Greensboro restaurant-goers can experience the flavor of a burger restaurant from the 1950s when Steak 'n Shake opens Monday at Wendover Avenue near Interstate 40... The Greensboro Steak 'n Shake is the first in North Carolina. The local franchise is owned by Steakers 'n Shakers, a group of investors from Knoxville, Tenn... There are nine restaurants in Atlanta and 20 in central Florida.
^Romig, Jeff (April 10, 2001)."Indiana-based restaurant chain spreading into South Carolina What's shakin'?".Spartanburg Herald-Journal. p. B3.The Indiana-based restaurant Steak 'n Shake began its South Carolina expansion when its inaugural location opened at 499 Congaree Road in Greenville in February. Steak 'n Shake's second location will open in Columbia sometime this summer, followed by a Spartanburg location before the end of the year.
^Conway, Annie (October 19, 2015)."Shaking up northern Nevada".Northern Nevada Business Weekly.Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. RetrievedApril 22, 2016.
^"Steak'n Shake paré au décollage" [Steak 'n Shake ready for take-off].Snacking (in French). January 4, 2017. Archived fromthe original on January 5, 2017. RetrievedFebruary 23, 2018.C'est à Bordeaux, dans le quartier des Bassins à Flot à proximité du siège de C Discount, que Steak'n Shake a clôturé 2016 avec l'ouverture en décembre de son 8e restaurant hexagonal...
^Simon, Christelle (January 4, 2017)."400 % de croissance pour Steak'n Shake en 2016" [400% growth for Steak 'n Shake in 2016].L'Officiel de la Franchise (in French).Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. RetrievedFebruary 23, 2018.Steak'n Shake clôture l'année 2016 avec l'ouverture de son 8ème restaurant français à Bordeaux et amorce la nouvelle année avec une dizaine de nouveaux projets sur le grill.
^Rousset, Vincent (September 27, 2017)."Burgers: Steak'n'Shake, La Différence" [Burgers: Steak 'n Shake, The difference](PDF).La Vie Économique du Sud-Ouest (in French). No. 2263. p. 6.ISSN1157-5387. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on February 23, 2018. RetrievedFebruary 23, 2018.Steak'n'Shake a ouvert début 2017 simultanément deux restaurants à Anglet et Bordeaux.
^Stuller, Inc. v. Steak N Shake Enterprises, Inc, et al., 695 F.3d 676 (7th Cir. August 24, 2012), archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Docket No. 11-2656.
