Auburn Hills — Steak ‘n Shake is the only national burger chain that accepts Bitcoin. It’s also the only one that mourned the loss of Charlie Kirk. But what’s really great about this restaurant is what hasn’t changed.
On X, the company says it’s performing better than comparable restaurants, reporting store sales up 10.7% in the second quarter of this year. Steak ‘n Shake closed hundreds of locations in the last several years to cut costs.
Now the brand has conspicuously aligned itself on X with the tenets of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again campaign, Elon Musk, President Trump, and Bitcoin.
It has also been militant against the controversial Cracker Barrel rebrand.
The company is selling USA-made MAGA-style hats calling for Cracker Barrel’s CEO to be fired for $20 and touting the wisdom of Steak ‘n Shake CEO Sardar Biglari in the dustup. It makes Wendy’s notoriously aggressive X strategy look like a Nerf fight.
The company also offers Real Sugar Coke and ditched seed oils for tallow, both reflecting the new health-food philosophy of the White House.
I recently went to the Steak ‘n Shake in Auburn Hills, and while I didn’t see RFK there, there were still people sitting down and pulling up to the drive-thru window about an hour after the prime lunch rush.
I didn’t hear anyone talk about Bitcoin, though the kiosks made a big deal about the payment method, which the company started accepting in May.
There are still paper hats emblazoned with the logo underneath the signs for Beef Tallow Fries™ and containers of the animal fat for sale behind the counter.
There are the same Route 66 signs and the red walls I remember from my childhood, but now there are no waitresses at your table, just kiosks where you order and then sit down or leave.
You can now buy large jars of beef tallow with your food for $9 (or $12 for the Wagyu variety). They’re sitting out by the cans of chili in the front of the kitchen.
One older man seemed to be having lunch with his mom. I asked him if he came here often.
He joked that he travels 2,400 miles to get here because it’s the best. He lives in Washington, and they don’t have Steak ‘n Shake there. There are only a handful left in Michigan, he says.
He said the tallow fries were a draw. “They’re the best. McDonald’s used to do theirs that way.”
The food here is good, especially for fast food. The shoestring-style Beef Tallow Fries™ are hot and crispy. They’re also well-salted.
The burger was lacy on the edges and also well-seasoned, a rarity today. They’re also freshly squished onto the grill. The bun is toasted and the condiments aren’t skimpy. Like the fries, it was ripping hot.
Another younger diner I talked with while he was waiting for his milkshake said he lives in Grand Blanc. It’s easy to see why he’d make the drive down I-75.
The milkshakes are worlds better than the average competitor’s dairy-infused cocktail of chemicals. Steak ‘n Shake’s actually taste like the key ingredients: milk, ice cream, chocolate, peanut butter.
While they’re certainly not going to Make America Healthy Again, the milkshakes taste just as good as they did when I was a kid, complete with canned whipped cream and a cherry on top.
This is what American fast food used to taste like before restaurants began cutting corners and wrapping food in forever chemicals.
It’ll take time to know whether the beef tallow and Bitcoin will boost business enough to start a food revolution.
Either way, Steak ‘n Shake will be serving up delectable burgers, crispy fries, and thick milkshakes until the bitter end.
And that’s all we ever really wanted.
Brendan Clarey is deputy editor of Michigan Enjoyer.
