Steak ‘n Shake is kicking their patriotism into high gear.
The restaurant knows for their steak burgers and tasty milkshakes have found themselves in a news a lot lately. That’s mainly due to decisions they’ve made with their casual dining establishments, like deciding to fry all of their foods in 100% beef tallow, and also opting to roast Cracker Barrel when they were going through that whole “we’re gonna change our signs, logo, and interior design” thing.
The burger and milkshake joint jumped down the throat of Cracker Barrel early on in the outrage cycle, and put out a couple different statements condemning the changes they were making. When they did that, it was a little out of left field, and they took things to the next level when they put up a billboard in Nashville that spelled out “Fire The CEO” in what would have been Cracker Barrel’s new logo and font (before they changed things back).
No one knew who put it up at first, until Steak ‘n Shake came out and said they were the ones responsible for the fiery billboard calling for Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino’s job:
“Yes, we are responsible for this billboard. Cracker Barrel’s board has failed its shareholders. It has spent over a decade fighting with one of its largest shareholders rather than collaborating for the good of the company.
Cracker Barrel has been at the forefront of the DEI movement at the same time it has reduced food quality and burned millions on failed acquisitions. The board apparently has more regard for DEI than ROI. Now, we are running a proxy contest at our own expense to fire the CEO. Biglari is doing the work left undone by the board. Fire the CEO! Save Cracker Barrel!”
That’s the last we’ve heard from Steak ‘n Shake on their Cracker Barrel rivalry… which they kind of created themselves. As a customer, I never imagined seeing a Duke-North-Carolina-esque hatred between the two dining establishments, but here we are.
It appears that Steak ‘n Shake has moved on from the Cracker Barrel fiasco (at least from what we know) to focus on bettering their own brand. One new thing the franchise will be doing is erecting flagpoles and the “biggest American flags” that are allowed by local governments at all of their locations across the country.
Considering there’s just shy of 400 Steak n’ Shakes spread out all over the United States, that’ll come out to be around 400 flagpoles and flag installations in the coming months. And it’s all in an effort to continue to let customers know that they strong support and uphold American values, as they explained on social media:
“The flag installations have begun at Steak n Shake. Every Steak ‘n Shake is getting the tallest and biggest American flag that local governments will allow! Steak ‘n Shake proudly supports American values and traditions.”
Salute to them (literally).
And if you are wondering why they specified that they’ll be getting the biggest and tallest flags that are “allowed,” that’s because too big and too tall of flags could lead to safety issues in the eyes of local governments. We’ve seen Camping World locations get in trouble, get fined, and even get shut down because of limitations on flag sizes… and Camping World’s tendency to fly the largest Old Glory they can find.
Sounds like Steak ‘n Shake is making sure they handle things the right way on the front end (though flying a big ol’ American flag shouldn’t ever be wrong) so that the Stars and Stripes can fly high at every single location they have across the country.
