I Needz Cheezburger

I love cheeseburgers. And I have the cholesterol tests to prove it.

The best cheeseburger I’ve ever had was at Shari’s Drive-In at 2650 North First Avenue in Tucson, Arizona. Now that you know the address, you must go there and have lunch. Or supper. Or both.

But alas. For me, Shari’s is 1000 miles away. Hamburger Barn, here in Fort Smith, AR, is pretty tasty. But it’s not Shari’s.

But there is a national chain that makes burgers nearly as good! Steak N Shake, the home of the Steakburger. SnS is also known for its hand-dipped shakes. Steak N Shake is one of the first national burger chains, having its start in 1934. This picture is of the first restaurant (courtesy steaknshake.com).

The company has fallen onto hard times in recent years. Profits are down significantly, they’ve had to close several stores, and they are cutting back their hours at many restaurants (they are currently open 24 in most markets). CEO Peter Dunn has stepped down to “pursue other interests.” As I noted in my cover letter, Steak N Shake is in need of “visionary leadership.”

My goal, at first, would be to increase profits and shareholder value. I believe a key to that would be to re-evaluate the existing menu to see what items could be enhanced. While Steak N Shake is the best tasting
burger of the national chains, I think the burgers themselves could stand to be beefed up, so to speak.

From a marketing standpoint, I would like to reposition the restaurants as less expensive alternatives to full service restaurants, while maintaining the image of speedy service. I would also consider entering into new
market locations with potentially high yields, such as malls and large office buildings.

Just as there are no Pizza Inns where I live, there are no Steak N Shakes either. I’ll have to get that taken care of.

That makes two (!) restaurant jobs I’ve applied for this week. As any good stockbroker will tell you, I need to diversify.