Steak ‘n Shake Credits Bitcoin for July Sales Lift

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

The chain began accepting Bitcoin at U.S. locations in May 2025 and later announced it was adding received Bitcoin to a strategic reserve. A July 10 company post linked the payment option to lower transaction costs and said savings were being reinvested in higher-quality ingredients. The post included the line, “Anyone who doubts the power of Bitcoin is making a BIG mistake.”

At the Bitcoin 2026 conference, executive Michael Boes presented figures describing a roughly 50% lower per-transaction processing cost for Bitcoin compared with traditional card payments and estimated the company would save about $6 million a year if every credit-card customer switched to Bitcoin. Boes reported total customer counts had increased by roughly 2 million year over year after the Bitcoin rollout; he did not identify those customers as Bitcoin payers or describe a method for attributing their visits to the payment option.

The company has not released basic adoption metrics: the number of Bitcoin orders, the dollar value of sales processed through Bitcoin, the actual fee savings realized, or store-level data showing whether locations with more Bitcoin activity performed differently or whether customers returned to pay with Bitcoin.

Biglari Holdings, Steak ‘n Shake’s parent, reported sales momentum earlier in the year. Its first-quarter filing showed 10% domestic same-store sales growth and about 13% growth at franchise-partner restaurants for the period ended March 31. A 2025 shareholder letter reported 10.2% annual same-store sales growth and credited product quality improvements, a point-of-sale and kiosk overhaul, productivity gains and the owner-operator model; Bitcoin was not mentioned in those filings.

First-quarter restaurant marketing expense rose to $5.427 million from $3.232 million a year earlier. Company-store food cost increased to 31.4% of net sales, partly because of a switch to 100% beef tallow. Company-operated units fell to 128 from 146, franchise-partner units rose to 182 from 172, and traditional franchise units declined to 96 from 104.

Promotions ran through July, including a Liberty Meal priced at $17.76 and free “Tesla Tallow Tots.” The company offered free fries on July 10 shortly before publishing the sales claim.

Steak ‘n Shake’s Bitcoin payment terms state menu prices remain denominated in U.S. dollars and checkout uses a third-party payment provider. The company states it adds no separate Bitcoin payment fee; customers may still incur wallet, network, conversion or exchange-rate costs. Online comments from customers included anecdotes that Bitcoin acceptance prompted first-time visits.

Some industry observers have called for merchants to report Bitcoin order counts and share, Bitcoin sales value, aggregate fee savings, and store- or cohort-level comparisons to link adoption to outcomes. Steak ‘n Shake has not provided figures that connect Bitcoin usage to its July sales results.