Company History:
Steak N Shake was on an expansion binge during the 1970s. Fueled by exponential growth over the previous decade, the Midwestern company had its sights set on the West Coast. With multiple states between Indiana and California, the oil-rich state of Texas was an attractive option to continue Steak N Shake’s expansion. To build their foothold, Steak n Shake chose to enter two major cities simultaneously: Dallas and Houston.
Local History:
Steak N Shake debuted in the Houston area in August 1976. Corporate decision-makers seemed to place complete faith in their Texas expansion, opening six locations in Houston throughout 1976. An additional three would open by early 1977. The chain advertised heavily, attempting to attract both employees and customers. Just as quickly as Steak n Shake entered Texas, it exited the market. The last mention in Houston was a Chronicle ad seeking management, which ran on June 30th, 1978. With just a month to go, there is little information on exactly what went wrong. Although the advertisements toward the end make it seem likely that staffing issues were a contributing factor, if not the primary one. An interesting side note: of the 9 locations built, seven were sold to Grandy’s. Which was a Southern Comfort restaurant chain, somewhat similar to Black Eyed Pea. Coming from Dallas, the former Steak ‘n Shake made easy conversions. The only significant building modification was the addition of a metal mansard roof, which is a feature of all Grandy’s locations.
In 2008, San Antonio Entrepreneur Sardar Biglari purchased the chain, which had only shrunk further after leaving Texas. He began another wave of expansion, including news stores in Houston. These would be built at a much slower pace, with construction lasting from 2008 to 2013. When they first opened, Steak n Shake was well received. More significant issues within the company would make their way down the chain of command. The stores would develop a reputation for slow, often poor service, despite good food. The expansion undertaken by Biglari consisted of company-owned stores that were quickly becoming unprofitable. Throughout 2018 and 2019, the Houston locations would intermittently close while attempting to transition to franchise ownership. During the COVID-19 crisis, the final blow came when all Houston locations permanently closed by the end of June 2020. Local C-Store chain, Now & Forever, briefly reopened a counter-service only location within one of its stores at 13905 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77077 in 2022.
Photo Gallery:
Address | Notes |
|---|---|
| 2227 Gessner Rd Houston, TX | 1976-1978 Sold to Grandy's, Now Taqueria Cancun |
| 8111 S Gessner Rd Houston, TX | 1976-1978 Sold to Grandy's, Now Taqueria Arandas |
| 5322 Farm to Market 1960 Rd W Houston, TX | 1976-1978 Sold to Grandy's, Demolished 2018 |
| 3730 Kirby Dr Houston, TX | 1976-1978 Sold to Grandy's, Later Demolished |
| 5745 Westheimer Rd Houston, TX | 1976-1978 Sold to Grandy's, Now James Coney Island, Highly remodeled |
| 14508 Memorial Dr Houston, TX | 1976-1978, Became Farm and Home S&L Then Ta Hua Chinese |
| 8321 Broadway St Houston, TX | 1977-1978, Became Sugar's Club Later Demolished |
| 1005 Bay Area Blvd Houston, TX | 1977-1978 Sold to Grandy's, Later Demolished |
| 806 Southmore Ave Pasadena, TX | 1977-1978 Sold to Grandy's, Later Demolished |
| 12611 FM 1960 Houston, TX | 2008-2016 Currently Vacant |
| 20950 Katy Fwy, Katy, TX | 2010-2020 Egcellence Cafe |
| 3030 Business Center Dr, Pearland, TX | 2012-2020 Currently Vacant |
| 20971 Gulf Fwy, Webster, TX | 2013-2020 Currently Vacant |
If y’all continue using the potato rolls from Martinsburg. I will not support your business
Erroll this website has nothing to do with Steak n Shake, which no longer operates in Houston. Rather this is about their history while they were here.
The way a lot of folks feel about Whataburger or In-And-Out is how I feel about Steak ‘N Shake’s hamburgers, there is no fast food hamburger I like better than a garlic double with cheese at SNS. The restaurants in Houston were usually poorly-staffed and often uncomfortably dirty, but I put up with it because the food was still really good (though the chili used to be meatier). I will miss them, I did once frequent the Katy Freeway location pretty often.
I’m 100% with you on that Garlic Burger. Hands down best fast food burger I’ve ever had. The stores were mismanaged beyond belief, and the quality of food did go down over the years. I remember they used to put garlic butter on the bun before toasting it, and they stopped doing this chain wide to cut costs. If the chain manages to survive the next couple of years, I think we’ll see them back one day.