Steak 'n Shake: Difference between revisions
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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 is now Chairman of the company. |
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 is now Chairman of the company. |
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Steak 'n Shake has launched an aggressive franchising initiative, aimed at growing the number of restaurants in the system over the next five years. Single and multiple unit territories are being offered in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, Southwest, Rocky Mountains and Pacific West. |
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==On the menu== |
==On the menu== |
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Revision as of 06:59, 14 April 2010
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 | This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (March 2010) |
| Company type | Public (NYSE: BH) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food |
| Founded | 1934 |
| Headquarters |  Indianapolis, Indiana |
Key people | Gus Belt, Founder Sardar Biglari, Chairman and CEO |
| Products | Diner cuisine |
Number of employees | 7,667 (2007) [1] |
| Website | www.steaknshake.com |
Steak 'n Shake is a 500-unit diner-style restaurant chain located primarily in the Midwestern and Southern United States. Over 400 Steak 'n Shakes are company-owned and the remaining 100 or so are franchised. Typical restaurant locations have both a drive-thru and front-window service, resulting in an atypical mix of fast-food to-go service and diner-style sit-down service. Most Steak 'n Shake restaurants are open 24 hours a day. Their slogan "Famous for Steakburgers" refers to their signature menu item, the Steakburger, so called because it is made from a mixture of T-bone, sirloin, and strip steak. Steak 'n Shake's prices had been comparable to diners and other sit-down food establishments, which were generally higher than fast food restaurants. But recently it has lowered its prices so that it now offers fast food pricing while maintaining the higher food quality which its customers expect.
Steak 'n Shake restaurants are operated by Steak 'n Shake Operations, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Biglari Holdings (NYSE: BH), located in San Antonio, Texas. The company currently operates 502 (as of January 2009) restaurants in 22 states, including 66 franchised locations.[1]
History
Gus Belt founded Steak 'n Shake in Normal, Illinois, in February 1934, when he converted the combination gas station/chicken restaurant he owned (Shell's Chicken) into a hamburger stand.[2] The original building, on the west side of Main Street between Virginia Avenue and the creek, was damaged by fire in the early 1960s, but was repaired and the dining room expanded. In the late 1990s, Steak 'n Shake sold the building to Monical's Pizza. Gus Belt was born in the small town of Morrisonville, Illinois. Steak 'n Shake's slogan "In Sight It Must Be Right" originally referred to Belt's practice of grinding the beef used in the steak burgers in the public area of the restaurant and in line-of-sight of the customers.[2] This practice was intended to reassure customers of the wholesomeness of the product (in a time when ground beef was still considered with skepticism and concern by the public, based on the possibility of hidden impurities and defects). This practice also helped assure customers of the veracity of Belt's "steak burger" ingredients claim — i.e., because they could see for themselves that he was grinding steak into the hamburger meat, along with more common cuts. Today, the slogan is generally thought to refer to Steak 'n Shake's open grill line.
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.[2]
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 Belt (who ran the chain until 1969), Longchamps, Inc. (an east coast steakhouse company that owned the chain from 1969 to 1971) and the Franklin Corporation, led by Robert Cronin, author of Selling Steakburgers: The Growth of a Corporate Culture. In 1981, Steak 'n Shake was sold by Franklin to 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.[2] The brand had been declining during the late 1970s, and in 1984 was in the red. Around that time the headquarters had been transferred from Bloomington, Illinois, to Indianapolis, Indiana. 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. (which is owned by the late Mr. Kelley's family). KRI's 16 sites will be purchased for about $1 million each; they are mainly in Georgia and North Carolina.
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 is now Chairman of the company.
Steak 'n Shake is most widely known for their Steakburgers, a trademarked name for a hamburger that owes its name to founder Gus Belt's practice of grinding strip, sirloin and T-bone steaks into burgers in full view of customers. The company maintains that their burgers are still made from "the finest of steaks".[2] They are also known for their "hand-dipped, real-milk" milkshakes,[3], available in several flavors. Other milkshake varieties include malts, Sippable Sundaes (milkshakes with toppings), Side-By-Side milkshakes (containing two flavors in one cup), and Bits n Pieces milkshakes (containing candy mixed inside the shake). Steak 'n Shake also serves chili (including chili over spaghetti, much like Cincinnati-style chili), melts, Steakburger shooters and a number of other products.
Steak 'n Shake also sells cans of its chili in its restaurants, as well as grocery stores. In 2007, the manufacturer of their canned chili was investigated as a source of botulism that had sickened several people. In response, Steak 'n Shake recalled its canned chili product.[4]
Locations
Steak 'n Shake restaurants are currently located in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
References
- ^ "Corporate Profile". The Steak 'n Shake Company. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ a b c d e "History". The Steak 'n Shake Company. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ "The Fountain". The Steak 'n Shake Company. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ "Steak 'n Shake: Chili in Restaurants is Safe". Inside INdiana Business. Retrieved 2009-01-19.