Steak ‘n Shake Credits Bitcoin for July Sales Gain

Steak ‘n Shake reported U.S. same-store sales rose about 16% in July and attributed part of the increase to Bitcoin. The company has not disclosed how many customers paid with Bitcoin or the dollar value of those orders.

The chain began accepting Bitcoin at U.S. restaurants in May 2025 and later announced it was adding received Bitcoin to a strategic reserve. A July 10 company post read, “Anyone who doubts the power of Bitcoin is making a BIG mistake.” The chain uses a third-party Bitcoin payment provider, keeps menu prices in U.S. dollars and reports it does not add a Bitcoin payment fee. Customers may still face wallet, network, conversion or exchange-rate costs.

Steak ‘n Shake has not released the number or share of Bitcoin transactions, the aggregate dollar value of Bitcoin sales, or the actual fee savings realized. The company also has not provided store-level data showing whether locations with greater Bitcoin activity performed differently or whether Bitcoin users returned to pay with it again.

At the Bitcoin 2026 conference, executive Michael Boes presented that Bitcoin transactions cost roughly 50% less to process than card transactions and estimated annual savings of about $6 million if every credit-card customer switched to Bitcoin. Boes reported total customer count rose by roughly 2 million year over year after the Bitcoin rollout; the presentation did not identify those customers as Bitcoin payers or offer a method for attributing visits to the new payment option.

Biglari Holdings, Steak ‘n Shake’s parent, reported 10% domestic same-store sales growth in its first-quarter filing and about 13% growth at franchise-partner restaurants for the period ended March 31. The parent reported restaurant marketing expense rose to $5.427 million from $3.232 million a year earlier and that company-store food cost increased to 31.4% of net sales from 30.0%, citing a switch to 100% beef tallow. Biglari’s 2025 shareholder letter reported a 10.2% annual same-store sales gain and credited product quality, an earlier point-of-sale and kiosk overhaul, productivity improvements and an owner-operator model; that letter did not mention Bitcoin.

Promotions ran during July, including a Liberty Meal priced at $17.76, free “Tesla Tallow Tots,” and a free-fries offer for July 10. The company did not specify the cutoff date used to calculate the July same-store sales figure.

Company statements describe a per-transaction cost advantage for Bitcoin and present Bitcoin as part of the brand and checkout options. The company has not provided the transaction-level and store-level disclosure that would show the number and share of Bitcoin orders, the dollar value of Bitcoin sales, the actual aggregate fee savings, comparisons across stores and cohorts, or measures of repeat Bitcoin use.