RFK Jr.’s rise to health authority status is the pinnacle of the age of research in which American conduct is done. Steak’n Shake is pleased with Grom.
How to cook beef with tallow
These beef tallow fries are better than fast food fries.
The problem has been resolved
Steak ‘n Shake jumped at Make America Healthy Badwagon in a desperate, last-minute effort to revive his finances. The chain’s free pandaring to Red State America goes down as a sad final act for a renowned restaurant chain.
Indianapolis-based Steak’n Shake will employ Maha-approved ingredients (beef fat for fries and soda sugar beef) and coordinate with the Trump administration, expanding the Maga universe to create this aspect of My Pillow and sparkling gold coins.
“We rfk fries,” said Daniel Edwards, CEO of Steak’n Shake, who boasted to Fox News in February.
That’s of course a reference to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the official American healthcare professional who opposes vaccines but says, “Hell, yeah!” For Americans who mainly use soda and fries. RFK Jr. appeared in “Hannity.”
RFK Jr.’s rise to health authority status is the pinnacle of the age of research in which American conduct is done. Steak’n Shake is glomming in play to find a market for declining products.
Better ingredients, same junk food
It should be noted that both beef and cane sugar have benefits.
Many skilled chefs prefer to cook with beef tallow, as they cook better at high temperatures and generally taste better.
Similarly, cane sugar is a better fare in taste tests and is less processed than alternatives containing high fructose corn syrup.
Here it is: fries are fries, sugar is sugar. If you eat too much with Steak’n Shake, you can expect similar health outcomes to overeat in other fast food joints. Steak ‘N Shake is not becoming a healthy food restaurant. We are introducing these products as business decisions.
And there’s a good reason. Steak’N Shake has closed 200 restaurants since 2018. Parent company Biglari Holdings Inc. disclosed an interesting nugget in its first quarter revenue report. Customer traffic continued with Steak’ N Shake, but sales for the same store increased by 3.9%.
There is the economic power of Maga.
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By leveraging politics, Steak’n Shake extracts more money from fewer customers who feel they are involved in the culture war by eating RFK.
According to revenue reports, Steak’n Shake’s diet costs rose this year due to the switch to beef tallow. Customers are paying a premium to eat from a menu that suits their political orientation.
Appealing to MAGA risks alienating other customers. But most steak’n shake locations are in Trump-friendly states (although there are dozens of locations in the blue state of Illinois). Steak’N Shake’s pivot to the well-known MAGA could improve the chain’s short-term outlook.
The long term is another issue.
Short-term profits, long-term pain
President Donald Trump takes office, media coverage will fade away, and the novelty of owning LIBS, burning “frying again” products and 2,000 calorie meals will disappear.
Once that happens, Steak’n Shake returns to where he was before. It lacks identity and was lost in the shuffle of competitors with more premium products.
My guess is that Steak’n Shake’s cynical alignment with the American anti-Vaxx crusades would provide the chain with a 2-3 year relative stability before the steam goes away. The descent of the steak’n shake to obsolete will then resume and save the closure.
I’m not rooting for the end of the steak ‘n shake. I love the memories of meals and late-night study sessions. I had no illusions about the product. I was there for high levels of fatty food, caffeine and sugar.
Now, Steak’N Shake is lying to his customers. It rarely ends well in any business.
James Briggs is the opinion editor of the Indianapolis Star, where this column was originally featured. Contact him at james.briggs@indystar.com or follow him at X and Bluesky: @jamesebriggs
