I live close to Normal, IL. The original Steak n Shake is now a Monical's Pizza. I have been following your conversations. It's brought back a lot of memories. I too am from Decatur. My folks were born and raised in Maroa. I am down in Decatur once a week. Just can't seem to leave my roots. The Decatur Genealogical Society is now out by Farm & Fleet on the south end of town. Candie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cheryl Rothwell" <LoganCty@mindspring.com> To: <ILMACON-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, January 17, 2004 10:17 AM Subject: RE: RE: [ILMACON] Durfee School > Ok, folks, the definitive history of Steak n Shake from their web site. Note > that despite pictures in the facilities showing the Decatur franchises as #2 > or #3 it isn't even listed. > > Steak n Shake was founded in 1934 in Normal, Illinois. Gus Belt, the founder > of Steak n Shake, was a quality restaurateur who owned a restaurant/gas > station called Shell's Chicken. Central Illinois had plenty of chicken and > beer restaurants so Gus soon realized he needed to be unique and different. > With a little help from his friends, he started Steak n Shake in February of > 1934. > > The Steak stood for Steakburger. Gus would wait for the busiest time in his > counter only restaurant, wheel in a barrel of steaks (including round steak, > sirloin steak, and T-bones) and ground the steaks into burgers right in > front of the customers. Hence, the origin of the famous slogan "In Sight It > Must Be Right." > > The Steakburger is still the finest burger served anywhere in the world-the > finest of steaks ground into pucks and through the art of grilling on a very > hot grill, turned into a burger beyond comparison. > > The Shake in Steak n Shake refers to a creamy, real-milk, hand-dipped Milk > Shake that endured as the best Milk Shake on the planet. Gus Belt used to > put the Multi-Mixers Shake machines in the windows of his restaurant so cars > driving by had to stop for a Milk Shake. > > Because of the high quality food served on glass and china at reasonable > prices by friendly servers, Gus had to make changes in order to accommodate > their ever increasing demand. His first move was to purchase a chain of > restaurants in Central Illinois called "Goal Post" and convert them to Steak > n Shakes. He then added curb service because every restaurant had a never > ending line to occupy one of the coveted seats. > > Demand became greater and greater and soon Gus expanded to Galesburg in > 1939. He also sold his first franchise in the late 30's. St. Louis, > Indianapolis, Northern Illinois, Daytona Beach, and Hot Springs, Arkansas > soon followed. > > Gus Belt passed away in 1954 and his wife, Edith took over the business. She > continued to operate the business, and decided not to expand but rather to > care for the Steak n Shake family. > > In January 1969 Edith Belt sold Steak n Shake to Longchamps Inc., a > steakhouse company from the East Coast. Longchamps then sold its majority > stock interest to the Franklin Company in September 1972. Robert Cronin, as > chairman of Steak n Shake, led an aggressive program to satiate the intense > demand for Steak n Shake and the company grew to 130 units in 1975. > > In the 70's, drive-thru's replaced the curb service. Due to intense > competition and great distance between restaurants, several restaurants were > closed. At this time, the corporate headquarters were moved from > Bloomington, Illinois to Indianapolis, Indiana. > > In 1981, Cronin sold his interest to E.W. Kelley and Associates. Because of > his marketing acumen, E.W. "Ed" Kelley is considered the "modern day" > founder of Steak n Shake. Understanding that customers' needs had changed > little since 1934, Mr. Kelley swiftly returned the restaurant to its roots, > stressing the preparation of cooked-to-order food, served to customers > accompanied by real china, glass and flatware. Menus were updated with > melts, salads, and breakfast items. And to meet an ever-increasing demand, > all Steak n Shake restaurants began to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a > week. > > Steak n Shake began growing again in 1990, sparked by the knowledge that a > successful brand must evolve in order to prosper. By the time of Mr. > Kelley's passing on July 4, 2003, the restaurant chain had more than doubled > in size. Steak n Shake currently operates over 400 restaurants (57 of which > are franchised) in 18 different states-a convincing testament to Mr. > Kelley's drive, wisdom and business skills. > > > > > ==== ILMACON Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the list send a message to: ILMACON-L-request@rootsweb.com with unsubscribe as the subject. > To unsubscribe from the digest send a message to: ILMACON-D-request@rootsweb.com with unsubscribe as the subject. > >