Steak n Shake By BiglariFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Steak n Shake By Biglari franchise requires a total initial investment of $316K – $2.7M, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.8M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 12 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $316K – $2.7M
- 20th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- 19th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 406
- 47th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Only 0.0% of 12 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Franchising since 1939. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 306 to 266 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
26% cash-on-cash return. Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $316K – $2.7M including a $25K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.8M/year (median $1.7M), with an estimated 26% cash-on-cash return.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 5/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 12 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System contracting at -13.1% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc.
- Parent company
- Biglari Holdings Inc.
- Incorporated in
- IN
- HQ
- 107 South Pennsylvania St., Suite 400, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
- Auditor
- Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $240.8M
- vs $240.0M prior year
Affiliated brands
- Steak n Shake
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual dining restaurants serving premium steakburgers, hand-dipped milkshakes, and American comfort food in a counter-service or table-service hybrid model. Daily operations include food prep, inventory management, staffing, and compliance with corporate pricing/promotion policies while managing customer-facing service in a branded steakhouse environment.
- CEO
- Sardar Biglari
- Headquarters
- IN
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 26
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 14 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $25K | $25K | |
| Real Estate / Rent | — | — | |
| Construction Management/Fee | $0 | $35K | |
| Site Improvements | $0 | $482K | |
| Building or Leasehold Improvements | $80K | $1.3M | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment, & Signage | $107K | $576K | |
| Pre-Opening Expenses | $5K | $10K | |
| Additional Funds for three (3) months | $5K | $20K | |
| Inventory and supplies for opening | $6K | $15K | |
| Training Expenses (travel, meals & lodging only - wages excluded) | $16K | $55K | |
| Architectural, Civil Engineering & Other Professional Fees & Permits | $0 | $88K | |
| Impact and Tap Fees | $0 | $11K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing Expenses | $0 | $25K | |
| Extension Fee | $0 | $10K | |
| Total initial investment | $244K | $2.7M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$236K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
15%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
6.5 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $316K – $2.7M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- Gross Receipts · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 3.9 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $6K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $13K |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
A 5.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.7M
- Avg net income
- $386K
- Cash-on-cash
- 25.7%
- Based on Net Income / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- net_sales
- Sample size
- 214 units
- vs category median 13 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $745K→$6.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Steak n Shake By Biglari Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 406
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 39
- Terminated
- 7
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 9.6%
- Company-owned
- 140
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 66%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -8.9%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -13.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 25
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Projected new
- 21
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 95.6%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 2.2%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 5.8%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 17 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Indiana
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 12
- Loan volume
- $13.4M
- Median loan
- $783K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 10
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Steak n Shake By Biglari's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 8 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 7-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 12 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Steak n Shake franchising shows high-risk contraction with adversarial litigation history, unverified earnings claims, and potential franchisor financial instability masking deteriorating unit economics.
Litigation (Item 3)
4 case reference(s): 0 pending, 3 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $250,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Deloitte & Touche LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 5 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSystem contracting sharply (-8.9% YoY unit decline) signals franchisee dissatisfaction or unsustainable unit economics
- 02HIGHMultiple litigation cases involving breach of contract, fiduciary duty, and fraud allegations indicate adversarial franchisor-franchisee relationship
- 03MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representation) disclosed despite $386K average net income claim, preventing verification of earnings
- 04MINOR5% combined royalty + licensing fees on $1.8M revenue creates $91K+ annual burden; sustainability questionable given declining unit count
- 05HIGHGoing Concern = False suggests parent company (Biglari Holdings) or franchise entity has solvency/operational concerns affecting support
- 06HIGHLitigation pattern shows enforcement of pricing/promotion policies and termination disputes, indicating franchisor control conflicts
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius or specific boundaries |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Indiana |
| Litigation count | 7 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
4 case reference(s): 0 pending, 3 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 50 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 200 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and franchisor facilities
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- NCR Aloha
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: NCR Aloha
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
92 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Steak n Shake By Biglari · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Steak n Shake By Biglari franchise?
The total investment to open a Steak n Shake By Biglari franchise ranges from $316K – $2.7M, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Steak n Shake By Biglari franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Steak n Shake By Biglari FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.8M. The median is $1.7M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Steak n Shake By Biglari's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Steak n Shake By Biglari has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 12 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Steak n Shake By Biglari franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Steak n Shake By Biglari has 406 total units in the United States, including 306 franchised units and 140 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Steak n Shake By Biglari a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Steak n Shake By Biglari as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 5 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.