A general manager of one of our local Steak'n Shake restaurants told me this morning that within a couple of years all of the original Steak'n Shake restaurants in the St. Louis area will be torn down and replaced with larger stores.
They make excellent hamburgers (excuse me...I mean..Steakburgers) and milkshakes, but this is sad news. I wonder if they would be interested in some federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits?
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There is a natural lifespan to a Steak 'n' Shake structure. At some point (usually around 20 years or so), it is so saturated that re-building is a safer option than watching it burn like a trick birthday cake candle.
The Lansdowne-Chippewa location certainly burnt quickly in its grease fire. Why Steak'n'Shake wouldn't rebuild, adding the now vacant Taco Bell location for an expanded site doesn't make sense. I guess Steak'n'Shake's burning and Taco Bell's abandonment just weren't timed right for such a deal.
Historic Steak n Shakes? Really, Rick?
The now abandoned location at Morganford and Chippewa was built in 1964. The now demolished location at Lansdowne and Chippewa was built in 1963. The location at Hampton and West Park was built in 1970; they may have already gotten a building permit to replace that one. The location at Hampton and Gravois was already replaced with a new building, in 2001.
I guess the location out in Lemay, at 1300 Lemay Ferry Road just south of Telegraph, might qualify as historical. It probably dates from the mid-1950s. But I think all the other stores were built after 1960.
If Busch Stadium doesn't qualify as historic, those Steak N Shakes sure don't!
In addition to the Lemay store, the Steak 'n Shake manager we spoke with mentioned at least one other vintage store somewhere up in North County.
When the 1950s Steak 'n Shakes are all gone, then the only classic drive-in left for classic car enthusiasts to gather will be the Chuck A Burger on St. Charles Rock Road.
And who said Busch Stadium doesn't qualify as historic? Surely no baseball fan would have said that.
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