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According to an article in <a href="https://www.qsrmagazine.com/fast-food/where-steak-n-shake-lost-its-way?utm_campaign=20190226&amp%3Butm_medium=email&amp%3Butm_source=jolt&utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=steak-n-shake-hopes-a-chick-fil-a-inspired-model-will-right-the-ship-2709281" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">QSR</a>, CEO of parent company Biglari Holdings, Sardar Biglari, wrote in a February 22 letter to shareholders that the company had withstood &ldquo;heavy losses.&rdquo; In the same letter, Biglari said that &ldquo;Steak &lsquo;n Shake&rsquo;s same-store sales declined 5.1 percent in 2018.&rdquo; Furthermore, &ldquo;Steak &lsquo;n Shake&rsquo;s average-unit volumes have been on the decline, too,&rdquo; according to the article.

Biglari blamed the losses on poor scaling: the brand failed to adapt its operations and kitchen design to increasing volume over time.

&ldquo;We failed customers by not being fast and friendly,&rdquo; Biglari said, according to the article. &ldquo;To be a market leader in the fast food business, we should have paid greater heed to becoming, well, fast,&rdquo; he said.

According to the article, &ldquo;Steak &lsquo;n Shake hopes to take a page out of Chick-fil-A&rsquo;s book to remedy the issue.Earlier in the year, <a href="https://www.qsrmagazine.com/franchising/steak-n-shake-wants-sell-400-corporate-stores-cheap?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=steak-n-shake-hopes-a-chick-fil-a-inspired-model-will-right-the-ship-2709281" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">the brand announced it was franchising all 413 of its company-operated units</a>. Specifically, the initiative centered on a single-unit strategy&mdash;akin to the chicken leader&mdash;in hopes of fostering a system where every operator is fully invested. The owner-operator model sells franchises to managers and other interested parties for just $10,000. But the new operator must split the store&rsquo;s profit with the franchisor,&rdquo; the article said. According to the article, Biglari said that the program &ldquo;would feed the entrepreneurial spirit at Steak &lsquo;n Shake.&rdquo;

Read the full article <a href="https://www.qsrmagazine.com/fast-food/where-steak-n-shake-lost-its-way?utm_campaign=20190226&amp%3Butm_medium=email&amp%3Butm_source=jolt&utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=steak-n-shake-hopes-a-chick-fil-a-inspired-model-will-right-the-ship-2709281" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">here</a>.

<div>Photo courtesy of Steak &#39;n Shake on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/steaknshake/photos/a.10150599697315041/10156130989410041/?type=3&amp%3Btheater=&utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=steak-n-shake-hopes-a-chick-fil-a-inspired-model-will-right-the-ship-2709281" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</div>

Steak 'n Shake Hopes a Chick-fil-A-Inspired Model Will Right the Ship

1851 Franchise

The iconic burger chain saw a 5.1-percent decline in sales for 2018.


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Steak 'n Shake Hopes a Chick-fil-A-Inspired Model Will Right the Ship

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