Steak ‘n Shake is reporting surging sales after the longtime American burger chain embraced patriotic branding and the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement while overhauling portions of its menu.
The restaurant has increasingly aligned its public image with President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA agenda, incorporating American flags, gold packaging and food changes centered on ingredients promoted as more traditional.
Its revamped menu includes french fries cooked in 100% beef tallow, Coca-Cola made with cane sugar, Grade A Wisconsin butter and A2 whole milk.
The chain also introduced 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef burgers nationwide in June as part of its broader menu transformation.
Those changes have coincided with a sharp improvement in business.
Owner Sardar Biglari told shareholders that Steak ‘n Shake’s financial performance in 2025 was “the biggest story of the year,” with same-store sales climbing 13%, following a 10.7% increase the year before.
The momentum has continued into 2026. The Wall Street Journal reported that same-store sales increased approximately 14% during the first half of this year, while customer traffic rose 5.8%.
The results stand out in a fast-food industry where restaurants have been competing aggressively for customers amid higher food costs and price sensitivity.
Steak ‘n Shake has leaned heavily into its transformation rather than keeping the changes strictly behind the counter.
Biglari created the position of “Chief MAHA Officer” and selected Michael Boes, who previously worked at the Department of Health and Human Services during the Trump administration, to lead the effort.
Boes has described his goal as restoring what the company calls the “original spirit of American fast food.”
“Customers should never have to choose between taste and health,” Boes said while announcing the menu strategy, arguing that restaurants can build trust through ingredient transparency.
Perhaps the chain’s most visible change has been its decision to abandon vegetable oils for its fries in favor of beef tallow.
Steak ‘n Shake’s own website now prominently markets its “Beef Tallow Fries,” while the company also sells jars of grass-fed beef tallow directly to consumers.
The company has also eliminated microwaves from restaurants, promoting traditional cooking methods as another element of its makeover.
“Quality restaurants don’t need microwaves,” Steak ‘n Shake said in a social media statement. “It is part of our journey to improve food quality and use traditional methods of cooking only.”
The chain’s political and cultural positioning has attracted attention from several prominent figures associated with Trump.
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly praised a Steak ‘n Shake meal, while Lara Trump appeared at a location during an interview segment with Boes. Elon Musk has also publicly interacted with the company online.
One exchange between Musk and Steak ‘n Shake eventually helped produce a partnership with Tesla to install Supercharger stations at more than 100 restaurant locations, according to the report.
The chain has mixed the health-focused messaging with overtly patriotic promotions.
For America’s 250th anniversary, Steak ‘n Shake offered $2.50 milkshakes during January, while another promotion gave some Tesla customers jars of beef tallow and red hats carrying the slogan “make frying oil tallow again.”
The approach represents a striking shift for a restaurant brand founded on Route 66 in 1934, per the Daily Mail.
Steak ‘n Shake currently describes itself as a “classic American brand” that emphasizes burgers, homemade milkshakes, beef-tallow fries and its identity as an American company.
The company’s improved sales do not by themselves establish that its political branding or MAHA-inspired menu changes caused the growth. Other operational, pricing and consumer factors can also influence restaurant performance.
The Wall Street Journal nevertheless reported that the chain’s revamped image and ingredient strategy have been accompanied by stronger customer traffic, while franchisees have described improved consumer response.
Health experts have also cautioned against treating individual ingredient swaps as proof that fast food has become healthy.
Alison Steiber, chief impact officer for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, noted that changing the frying fat does not change the basic fact that french fries remain fried food.
For Steak ‘n Shake, however, the transformation has become part of both its menu and its corporate identity — and the company is entering the second half of 2026 with sales and customer traffic moving sharply higher.
