From Decline to Discipline: Why Steak ’n Shake Turned to Automation
For decades, Steak ’n Shake built its reputation on made-to-order burgers, table service, and late-night diners. But by the late 2010s, that model was under severe pressure. Rising labor costs, inconsistent service, shrinking margins, and declining traffic forced leadership to rethink the fundamentals of how orders were taken, processed, and fulfilled.
Rather than incremental change, Steak ’n Shake opted for structural automation — replacing labor-heavy front-of-house workflows with self-service kiosks, digital menu boards, and streamlined kitchen operations. The result was not just cost reduction, but a fundamentally different operating model.
For technical points they are one of the first to use biometrics (and get sued for it) and one of the first to accept bitcoin. They accept cash too.
These actions place Steak ’n Shake among the most aggressive kiosk adopters in the U.S. restaurant industry.
Self-Order Kiosks as the Primary Ordering Channel
Steak ’n Shake didn’t deploy kiosks as an “option.” In many locations, kiosks became the default ordering interface, with traditional cashier stations reduced or removed entirely.
steak-n-shake
Key impacts of kiosk-first ordering:
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Labor compression: Fewer cashiers required per shift
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Higher order accuracy: Customers enter orders directly
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Improved throughput during peak hours
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Consistent upselling through guided UI prompts
By shifting order entry to kiosks, staff could be reassigned to food prep and fulfillment, where speed and consistency matter most.
This reflects a broader kiosk industry trend: kiosks are no longer additive — they are operational infrastructure.
Insight – more and more companies with a check-in or ordering process are adopting the counter-less McDonalds strategy with concierge assistance with kiosks [https://kioskindustry.org/mcdonalds-kiosk-counterless/]. We see this in latest healthcare case study with Epic patient check-in [Reimagining Patient Check-In: ThedaCare’s Digital Arrival Model in Epic]
Digital Menu Boards and Price Control
Alongside kiosks, Steak ’n Shake expanded its use of digital menu boards to regain control over pricing, promotions, and menu complexity.
Digital displays enabled:
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Rapid price changes without reprinting costs
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Daypart-specific menus
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Simplified menu layouts aligned with kiosk flows
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Easier testing of limited-time offers (LTOs)
This synchronization between kiosks and displays reduced customer confusion and shortened decision time — a subtle but critical factor in increasing order velocity.
Automation as a Business Survival Strategy
What makes Steak ’n Shake especially relevant to kiosk professionals is why automation was deployed.
This was not a tech vanity project. It was a survival strategy.
Automation allowed Steak ’n Shake to:
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Operate stores with significantly fewer staff
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Stabilize unit economics in lower-traffic locations
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Reopen or sustain stores that would otherwise be unviable
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Create a standardized, repeatable operating model for franchising
In effect, kiosks and automation became the enabler of scalability, not just a cost-cutting tool.
Operational Simplification and Kitchen Flow
Self-service ordering only works if the back of house can keep up. Steak ’n Shake paired front-end automation with menu rationalization and kitchen workflow changes. Menu rationalization = selling fewer things, better, faster, and more profitably.
Benefits included:
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More predictable order patterns from kiosks
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Fewer customizations than verbal ordering
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Cleaner handoff between ordering and production
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Better data visibility into item-level demand
This is a key lesson for kiosk deployments in QSR: front-end automation must be designed with kitchen realities in mind.
What Steak ’n Shake Signals for the Kiosk Industry
Steak ’n Shake’s transformation highlights several broader truths relevant to kiosks, displays, and unattended ordering:
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Kiosks are now core infrastructure, not experimental tech
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Legacy brands can modernize without abandoning their identity
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Labor-light models are becoming the default, not the exception
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Digital ordering is as much about control as it is about convenience
For kiosk manufacturers, software providers, and integrators, Steak ’n Shake validates the long-term demand for durable, scalable self-service platforms in high-volume restaurant environments.
The Bigger Picture: Automation as Brand Reset
Perhaps the most important takeaway is that Steak ’n Shake used automation to reset its business model — not just improve efficiency.
By embracing kiosks, digital displays, and simplified operations, the brand repositioned itself for a future where:
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Labor availability is uncertain
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Cost pressure is permanent
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Speed and consistency outweigh traditional service rituals
Accessibility
Likely Partial Compliance — by obligation of the ADA (Title III of the ADA requires public accommodation without discrimination), Steak ’n Shake restaurants must provide accessible services and facilities. However:
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The chain has not publicly disclosed a formal compliance certification for self-service kiosks.
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ADA guidance for kiosk accessibility is still evolving, and actual compliance can vary by location and implementation.
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Best practice standards in kiosk deployments (reach ranges, audio assist, tactile controls) go beyond what many current restaurant kiosks provide.
For truly inclusive ordering, restaurants often supplement kiosk ordering with alternatives (staff-assisted ordering, mobile apps, etc.) — and it would be prudent for Steak ’n Shake to do the same where kiosk use alone isn’t accessible to all customers.
Notes
- Some of the units accept cash. Looks like Glory
- POS “warts” are likely Verifon UX3xx
- POS software — Despite industry chatter (e.g., on forums about things like “Aloha” or “CashInfinity” mentioned by managers in unofficial posts), there is no authoritative public source confirming a specific commercial POS software product (like Aloha, PAR, Oracle MICROS, Revel, or NCR) as the exclusive POS software used by Steak ’n Shake.
- https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/steak-n-shake-facial-recognition-self-order-kiosks/713263/
- Bitcoin — Steak ’n Shake also partnered with Speed to enable Bitcoin and stablecoin payments using Lightning Network integration
- https://kioskindustry.org/crypto-acceptance-in-self-service/ — “Our experience so far with bitcoin is that it has been faster than credit cards, and when customers choose to pay in bitcoin instead of credit cards, we are saving about 50% in our processing fees,” Dan Edwards, Steak ‘n Shake’s chief operations officer, said during a presentation at Bitcoin 2025. [Note — 50% is nice but UPI in India or Pix in Brazil save 100%. See Reforming Retail]
- Biometrics – Steak ’n Shake has deployed PopID’s biometric check-in and PopPay payment software across its kiosk fleet and in-store systems. This deployment was completed nationwide in all ~300 U.S. locations through a partnership that also involved hardware supplier ACRELEC (kiosk and drive-thru hardware). https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/steak-n-shake-locations-add-biometric-check-in-and-checkout/
- We are checking with Acrelec and Elotouch to reconcile pictures
- Digital menu boards — While Steak ’n Shake hasn’t publicly disclosed the specific make and model of its digital menu board displays, the chain’s self-service and drive-thru signage is integrated as part of its broader kiosk ecosystem delivered by Acrelec, a major provider of QSR kiosk and digital ordering solutions.
Conclusion
Steak ’n Shake is less a fast-food story and more a case study in applied automation — one that continues to influence how QSR brands think about kiosks, ordering, and growth.
More Steak-n-Shake Resources
- https://kioskindustry.org/facial-recognition-steak-n-shake-sams-club-and-amazon/
- https://kioskindustry.org/steak-n-shake-kiosks-violate-bipa/ — Steak ’n Shake’s use of facial recognition kiosks from PopID (via Acrelec) is central to the claim. Status is pending as of January 2026. BIPA and Illinois of course.
