Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Steak ’n Shake opens on Main Street
WEST NORRITON >> The name Steak ’n Shake perfectly sizes up the straightforward American fare of burgers, fries and handmade milkshakes that are the specialty of the quick-serve restaurant helping to revitalize Main Street in Jeffersonville.
With lines forming all day long on Monday, opening day for the 45-seat eatery, it was clear that folks in the area have been hankering for more burger options.
Wendy’s deserted the “strip” long ago, and the intervening years saw the rise of the upscale burger joint with chains like Five Guys and Wayback Burgers popping up everywhere.
Steak ’n Shake shares a common entrance with Wawa, which opened in 2014 on the former site of Gateway Diner, and the national chain belongs to the same notch-above burger club, offering steak in the form of steakburgers, made to order from prime sirloin and served lickety split.
But don’t call it fast food, noted owner Jolly Sikka, president of Ramy Enterprises, which is also launching a Steak ’n Shake in Warminster next month.
“It’s good food fast,” he said. “All fresh ingredients made to order, from real, freshly ground sirloin, not a ground patty where you don’t know where the meat is coming from It’s not something we make and keep just to have faster service. Our steakburgers are so much better than the average burger you would get at any other restaurant.”
Sikka’s brother, Vishal Joseph, is on board as manager of the restaurant and its staff of 50, said Sikka, who owns two Currito locations at Philadelphia International Airport.
The Delaware resident said he was sold on the Steak ’n Shake concept when he tasted the chain’s Jalapeno Crunch burger at a Fogelsville location.
“I loved it so much and began looking around for locations in Pennsylvania where we could open,” Sikka recalled.
Finalizing details and construction of the building, which features a drivethru, took about a year and a half, he noted.
According to company background, Steak ’n Shake dates back to 1934 in Normal, Ill., when founder Gus Belt pioneered the concept of premium burgers and milkshakes.
To prove his point that his burgers were exceptionally prime, Belt would wheel in a barrel of steaks, such as round, sirloin, and T-bones, and grind the meat into burgers right in front of customers, which gave rise to the company’s slogan, “In Sight It Must Be Right.”
Steak ’n Shake Operations, Inc., now a wholly owned subsidiary of Biglari Holdings Inc., has evolved into two models of restaurants, the classic full-service, and the express “counter” style, like the West Norriton location.
The bright and airy restaurant exudes an inviting ambiance, with its red and white motif, streamlined seating and nostalgic blackand-white photo mural on the front dining room wall.
Milkshakes come in classic flavors, such as vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, as well adventurous flavors like Butterfinger, Oreo Cookies ’n Cream, Nutella and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough .
The signature burgers include three 6-oz. prime steakburgers — Original, Frisco style and White Truffle, with mushrooms and Swiss cheese.
“Those are the burgers I always suggest people try,” Sikka said. “It took years for them to be developed. They’re a little pricier, but you can compare their quality to any burger out there.”
Steak ’n Shake, 2520 W. Main St., West Norriton, is open daily 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Hours will eventually be expanded to midnight on Friday and Saturday.