{"id":51994,"date":"2026-04-29T14:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T19:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/?p=51994"},"modified":"2026-04-29T14:00:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T19:00:53","slug":"bitcoin-is-fueling-steak-n-shake-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/news\/bitcoin-is-fueling-steak-n-shake-comeback","title":{"rendered":"Steak &#8216;n Shake Says Bitcoin Payments Cut Processing Costs by 50%, Save $6 Million Annually"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\n<p>Steak &#8216;n Shake Chief MAHA Officer <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheBitcoinConf\/status\/2046620464835940598\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheBitcoinConf\/status\/2046620464835940598\">Michael Boes<\/a> told attendees at the Bitcoin 2026 Conference in Las Vegas that Bitcoin has become a core driver of the chain&#8217;s business performance, pointing to 2 million new customers, dramatic cost reductions, and a sweeping menu overhaul tied directly to savings from bitcoin payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Boes cited how the chain launched its Bitcoin payment platform on May 16, 2025, via the Lightning Network, and the results came fast. Same-store sales rose 11% quarter over quarter in Q2 2025 and accelerated to 15% in Q3 2025, outpacing major rivals including McDonald&#8217;s, Taco Bell, and Domino&#8217;s.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He called it the highest same-store sales growth of any restaurant in the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">JUST IN: Fast food giant Steak &#39;n Shake announces &quot;when we use bitcoin, we save 50% on processing fees vs a traditional credit card user.&quot; \ud83d\udc40<br><br>&quot;If every credit card user used bitcoin, we would save roughly $6 million annually. Which is huge&quot; \ud83d\ude4c <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NxuFOa3xmW\">pic.twitter.com\/NxuFOa3xmW<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BitcoinMagazine\/status\/2049558735442567168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 29, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The financial case for Bitcoin, Boes argued, is straightforward. When customers pay with Bitcoin instead of a credit card, <a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/tags\/steak-n-shake\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/tags\/steak-n-shake\">Steak &#8216;n Shake <\/a>saves roughly 50% on processing fees. Traditional credit card processors charge merchants between 2.5% and 3.5% per transaction.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re moving forward with bitcoin \u2013 the future of money,&#8221; Boes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Steak \u2018n Shake: bitcoin is making their food healthier<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Boes said that if every credit card user switched to Bitcoin, the chain would save approximately $6 million annually \u2014 funds he said go directly toward upgrading the food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Bitcoin is real money made with real energy,&#8221; Boes told the audience. &#8220;It&#8217;s a healthy currency that allows us to make a healthier product.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those upgrades are already underway. Steak &#8216;n Shake removed microwaves from its kitchens and will transition to 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef across all locations starting June 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company previously switched from seed oils to beef tallow for frying its french fries as part of its alignment with the Make America Healthy Again movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Wednesday, Boes announced two new Bitcoin-themed menu items at the conference: a <a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/news\/steak-n-shake-teases-bitcoin-milkshake-for-bitcoin-conference-2026\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/news\/steak-n-shake-teases-bitcoin-milkshake-for-bitcoin-conference-2026\">Bitcoin Milkshake<\/a> and a Bitcoin Steakburger, both tied to Bitcoin&#8217;s fixed supply of 21 million coins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Steak &#8216;n Shake has also built a closed-loop Bitcoin economy around its payments strategy. All Bitcoin received from customers goes into the company&#8217;s strategic Bitcoin reserve, which has grown to $10 million.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That reserve funds a <a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/news\/steak-n-shake-to-pay-workers-bitcoin-bonus\">Bitcoin bonus program<\/a> for hourly employees \u2014 $0.21 per hour worked \u2014 that launched March 1. Boes confirmed he also accepts Bitcoin as part of his own compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m one of the first in the industry to accept bitcoin as a part of my executive compensation package,&#8221; Boes said. &#8220;I hope that will pave a new way for models of compensation across the industry.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The chain operates hundreds of locations across the United States, France, Italy, Portugal, and Monaco.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Steak \u2018n Shake exec Michael Boes told Bitcoin 2026 attendees that Bitcoin has become central to the chain\u2019s turnaround, driving 2 million new customers, cutting costs, and helping fund a healthier menu overhaul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3817,"featured_media":51996,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4378],"tags":[5970,125,248,5607],"class_list":{"0":"post-51994","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-bitcoin-payment","9":"tag-bitcoin-payments","10":"tag-bitcoin-reserve","11":"tag-steak-n-shake"},"author_data":{"id":3817,"name":"Micah Zimmerman","nicename":"micahzimmerman","avatar_url":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Micah_Zimmerman_Author_Image.jpg"},"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-11.56.12-AM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3817"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}