A. H. “Gus” Belt of Morrisonville, Illinois founded Steak ‘n Shake in Normal, Illinois in February 1934. Before that, Belt and his wife Edith served all-you-can-eat fried chicken and coleslaw for $0.45 with an add-on beer costing $0.09 at their combination gas station restaurant, Shell’s Chicken. However, the ubiquity of fried chicken restaurants in Central Illinois forced Belt to rethink his restaurant model which led him to convert his business into the first Steak ‘n Shake which featured only countertop seating.
Belt did land on a novel way to serve food. Once the countertop seating was full, Belt would push a barrel of T-bone, sirloin, and round steaks past the customers. He would then grind the meat in front of them, take the ground steaks to the open grill line, and begin making the now-famous Steakburgers in front of everyone. Hence the famous slogan, “In Sight It Must Be Right.”
The marketing strategy boosted the restaurant’s popularity. Not only did Belt assure customers of the wholesomeness of the burgers, but he proved the Steakburger was made of actual steak. The counter-only seating arrangement restricted capacity, though. Thus, Belt purchased a small restaurant chain called Goal Post and converted these into Steak ‘n Shakes. Demand for Belt’s Steakburgers continued to soar. He then added curb service. Sometime in the 1930s Belt sold his first franchise which allowed for expansion throughout Illinois and the Midwest.
Belt’s wife Edith assumed ownership of the chain after his death in August 1954. Three months later the first Steak ‘n Shake in Indiana opened as a in Indianapolis. Edith Belt sold the business in 1969 to Longchamps which started a series of sales resulting in then-owner E.W. Kelley and Associates moving the headquarters from Illinois to Indiana in 1981.
This was a time when drive-thru windows at restaurants displaced the use of curb service. To compete Kelley reimagined Steak ‘n Shake with an updated and expanded menu, made-to-order food, and table delivery of items using real china and flatware. Many locations remained open 24 hours a day. By the time Kelley died in 2003, he had doubled the size of the company.
Sardar Biglari took control of Steak ‘n Shake in August 2008. Two years later the name of the controlling company changed to Biglari Holdings Inc. with Sardar Biglari as chairman. Following three years of plummeting sales, his company led a remarkable turnaround that resulted in 24 straight quarters of growth. He shrunk the menu and focused on three core items—burgers, shakes, and fries.
By the 2020s the franchise faced a severe downturn in profits. Fierce competition from new fast-casual chains, under-investment in the restaurants, two expensive lawsuits, an unpopular franchise partner model, and the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the company’s near demise.
However, Steak ‘n Shake continues to reinvent itself to attract and maintain its customer base. To do so, the restaurants have shifted from the original diner-style concept to a style model, ditching table service for a tableside kiosk ordering system that empowers customers to pick up their orders when ready at the grill.
In 2023 there are over 550 Steak ‘n Shake restaurants operating in 28 states, Europe, and the Middle East.
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