Steak 'n Shake

History

Gus Belt (born in Morrisonville, Illinois) founded Steak 'n Shake in Normal, Illinois in February 1934, after serving four years in the United States Marine Corps. He converted the combination gas station and chicken restaurant that he owned (Shell's Chicken) into a hamburger stand. The original building at the intersection of Main Street and West Virginia Avenue was damaged by a fire in the early 1960s, but it was repaired and its dining room expanded. In the late 1990s, Steak 'n Shake sold this building to the Monical's Pizza company. 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. This practice was intended to reassure customers of the wholesomeness of the product; at that time, ground beef was still viewed with some skepticism by the general public, based on the likelihood of its having deliberate impurities introduced into it. This practice of grinding the beef in public also helped assure his customers of the veracity of Belt's "Steakburger" claim because they could see for themselves that he was grinding steaks into the hamburger meat. 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 remains "in sight" to customers.

Following the success of the original restaurant, Belt purchased a chain of "Goal Post" restaurants throughout Central Illinois, converting them into Steak 'n Shake restaurants. He also added curb service at this point.

After Gus Belt

Steak 'n Shake continued to expand throughout Illinois following the death of its creator in 1954, with ownership passing through many hands, including Gus's wife Edith (who ran the chain until 1969); Longchamps, Inc. (an east coast steakhouse company that owned the chain from 1969 to 1971); and the Indianapolis-based Franklin Corporation, led by Robert Cronin, author of Selling Steakburgers: The Growth of a Corporate Culture. After the acquisition, Franklin moved Steak 'n Shake's headquarters from Normal, Illinois to Indianapolis.

In 1981, Steak 'n Shake and its parent company Franklin were acquired by E. W. Kelley and Associates, whose chairman, E. W. "Ed" Kelley was considered largely responsible for the growth of the restaurant until his death on July 4, 2003. The brand had been declining during the late 1970s and in 1984, it was in the red. Kelley hired the former head of Circle K to turn the business around. Steak 'n Shake rapidly improved and expanded throughout the 1990s and into 2000. In early-November 2004, The Steak 'n Shake Company entered into an agreement to buy out its largest franchisee, Kelley Restaurants, Inc. (owned by Kelley's family).

Biglari

In 2008, there was a shake-up in the company's Board of Directors. Value investors Sardar Biglari and Phillip Cooley were elected to the Board with well over 70% of the votes cast. As a result, Biglari was selected Chairman of the company.

Franchise pricing lawsuits

Between 2010 and 2015, Steak 'n Shake became involved in lawsuits with several of its franchisees concerning mandatory menu prices and mandatory food sourcing. As of August 2013, five lawsuits had been filed. The first lawsuit began in 2010 and is by Stuller, Inc., the Illinois franchisee that is the oldest franchisee in Steak 'n Shake's history. Stuller won a preliminary injunction that went to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in August 2012. Three more franchisees filed suit in April 2013 — Druco Restaurants based in St. Louis, People Sales & Profit Co. based in Georgia, and Scott's S&S Inc. in Pennsylvania. A settlement was reached with these franchisees in 2014, but terms of the settlement were not made public.

Steak 'n Shake filed suit against Denver franchisees Larry and Christopher Baerns in July 2013 over the same issues, with a counterclaim soon after. Steak 'n Shakes won their lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the Baerns when judge ruled that the Baerns intentionally overcharged customers. The complaints by the franchisees also question whether Steak 'n Shake promised franchise results that could never actually be achieved under its policies.

Locations

Today, Steak 'n Shake restaurants are located in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.

The first Steak 'n Shake in the state of Indiana was opened as a drive-in restaurant in Indianapolis in November 1954. As typical for this time period, this restaurant had offered curb service (carhop) in additional to table service and takeout. At the time of the opening of this location, Steak 'n Shake had locations in five states.

The Route 66 Steak 'n Shake at Springfield, Missouri (built 1962) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

The company entered North Carolina for the first time by opening a franchised location in Greensboro in December 1996.

After briefly operating a few restaurants in south Texas during the 1970s, Steak 'n Shake returned to Texas by opening locations in the Dallas–Fort Worth area beginning in 2001, in the Houston area beginning in 2012, and in the San Antonio area beginning in 2011.

Steak 'n Shake entered South Carolina for the first time by opening a location in Greenville in February 2001.

The company entered Oklahoma for the first time by opening a franchised location in Edmond, Oklahoma in 2004.

Steak 'n Shake entered West Virginia for the first time by opening a franchised location in Barboursville in August 2007.

Steak 'n Shake opened their first location in Nevada inside the South Point Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada in July 2010 and second Nevada location in Reno in July 2013.

Steak 'n Shake entered Louisiana for the first time by opening a location near Baton Rouge in Covington, Louisiana in 2011.

The company first entered Colorado via a franchise in Denver in November 2011 before the parent took over the Colorado locations after a lengthy lawsuit between the franchisee and the parent company.

In January 2012, they opened their first state of New York location in New York City, adjacent to the Ed Sullivan Theater, then home to the Late Show with David Letterman. Indiana native David Letterman, an avid Steak 'n Shake fan, would frequent the location and mention it often on his show.

The first location in New Jersey was opened by a franchise holder in September 2012 in Paramus, New Jersey.

The first Steak 'n Shake location in the state of Arizona was opened in Tempe in October 2013.

The first and only location in the state of Montana, and in the upper plain states, was opened in Billings in December 2013. This location was forced to close after two and a half years in July 2016 due to poor sales that was blamed on "harsh reviews on social media".

Steak 'n Shake expanded to California in July 2014 by opening a location in Victorville. A Los Angeles County location was opened in Santa Monica in late October and another in Burbank in December. After a lack of activity for over a year in the highly competitive Californian marketplace, the company announced in April 2016 of the expected opening of their first Orange County location, their fourth in California, in Aliso Viejo in mid-May. After a short delay, a fifth California location was opened behind schedule in Riverside in August 2016.

In 2015, the company had planned to open a restaurant in Northern California in Campbell, California, but local residents have been successful so far in blocking this move. Because of that delay, the first location in Northern California opened instead in Daly City in November 2016 followed by an expected opening in Fresno in early 2017.

In June 2015, the first location in Maryland was opened in Millersville, Maryland.

The Pacific Northwest saw its first location open in Seattle, Washington in May 2016.

International expansion

In December 2013, Steak 'n Shake opened a corporate office in Monte Carlo, Monaco, to support its expansion in the Middle East and Europe.

Middle East

In October 2012, Steak 'n Shake announced its first international expansion agreement with plans to open forty locations in the United Arab Emirates. The first of these locations opened in Dubai in 2013, but closed in a little more than a year. Ultimately, only two out of the original planned 40 locations were opened in the United Arab Emirates with both being closed in January 2015.

The brand also announced in December 2013 a 50-unit franchise agreement in Saudi Arabia with AB Holdings. The first location in Riyadh was expected to open in the first half of 2014.

The first location in the Persian Gulf country of Kuwait was opened in December 2014.

Europe

The first two European locations were opened in Cannes in France in May 2014 and on the island of Ibiza in Spain in June 2014.

The second location in France was opened in Marseille in December 2014. A third location in France was opened in Toulon in April 2016 and was quickly followed in June by the openings of a fourth and fifth locations in Caen and Rueil-Malmaison, in October by the openings of a sixth location at the Cité Europe shopping centre in Coquelles, and in November of a seventh location in Fenouillet.

The second location in Spain was opened in the capital Madrid in September 2015 followed by a third location in Churra, Murcia in October 2015.

The first location in Italy was opened in Milan in December 2015. A second location was opened in Peschiera del Garda in May 2016. A third location was opened in Castione Andevenno in September 2016.

In July 2016, the first location in Portugal was opened in Montijo, near Lisbon.

In December 2016, the first store in the United Kingdom was opened in Chester, Cheshire, England.