# Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc.

> Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc. (founded 2005) is a Food & Beverage franchise with 387 units. Franchise fee $25,000, total investment $316,000–$2,695,052, royalty 5% of Gross Receipts, no Item 19 disclosure.

**Last updated**: 2026-06-14
**URL**: https://vetmyfranchise.com/franchise/steak-n-shake-enterprises-inc?utm_source=claude&utm_medium=ai_referral&utm_campaign=vmf_agent_md

## Quick Verdict

**Best for:** Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc. fits first-time franchise buyers looking for a mid-scale food & beverage concept.

**Strengths**

- 387 units — strong system scale

**Risks**

- No Item 19 disclosure — buyers fly blind on revenue
- No exclusive territory — franchisor can open nearby

## Key Facts

- **Industry**: Food & Beverage
- **Year founded**: 2005 (21 years in business)
- **FDD year on file**: 2026
- **Units (Item 20)**: 387 total franchised; 6 opened in most recent year; 21 closed in most recent year
- **Closure ratio**: 5.4% (annual closures ÷ current franchised units — this is a system-level signal, not a cohort survival rate)
- **Company-owned units**: 126
- **Item 19 (financial performance representation)**: No

## Investment

- **Franchise fee**: $25,000
- **Total initial investment**: $316,000 – $2,695,052
- **Royalty**: 5% of Gross Receipts
- **Ad fund**: 10%
## Direct Competitors

| Metric | **Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc.** (this brand) | Honest Hospitality Group LLC (Similar price) | DOCTOR'S ASSOCIATES LLC (Biggest system) | Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC (Top-rated) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Franchise fee | $25K | $25K | $15K | $50K |
| Total investment | $316K–$2.7M | $1.9M–$2.7M | $227K–$630K | $3.5M–$6.4M |
| Royalty | 5% of Gross Receipts | 5.5% of Gross Revenues | 8% | 5.5% of Gross Sales |
| Total units | 387 | 40 | 18,773 | 33 |
| Item 19? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |


## Risk & Legal Signals

- **Disclosed lawsuits (Item 3)**: 4
- **Item 4 bankruptcy**: none disclosed
- **Territory protection (Item 12)**: no exclusive territory — franchisor may open or grant additional units inside or adjacent to your trade area
- **Initial agreement term**: 10 years

## Frequently asked questions

**Q: How much does a Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc. franchise cost?**
A: Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc. requires a $25,000 initial franchise fee and a total initial investment range of $316,000–$2,695,052, per the most recent FDD on file.

**Q: Does Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc. disclose financial performance (Item 19)?**
A: No. Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc. does not include a financial performance representation in its FDD. Prospective buyers should rely on validation calls with existing franchisees and benchmark against food & beverage industry medians.

**Q: What ongoing fees does Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc. charge?**
A: Franchisees pay a royalty of 5% of Gross Receipts and an advertising fund contribution of 10% on gross sales or revenue as defined in Item 6 of the FDD.

**Q: How many Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc. locations are there?**
A: Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc.'s most recent FDD reports approximately 387 total franchise units in the system. See the franchise's growth sub-page for the full opens/closes breakdown and year-over-year trend.

**Q: Does Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc. grant exclusive territory?**
A: No. Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc. does not grant exclusive territory rights under Item 12. The franchisor retains the right to operate or grant additional units inside or adjacent to your trade area.

**Q: What are the renewal and exit terms?**
A: Per the FDD, Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc. discloses an initial agreement term of 10 years, a renewal fee of $12,500, a transfer fee of $5,000. Review Items 10 and 17 for the full renewal and termination provisions.

## Source

Data on this page is extracted from Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc.'s 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, filed under FTC Rule 16 CFR 436.
- **Filing regulator**: Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (WI)
- **Regulator search URL**: https://apps.dfi.wi.gov/apps/FranchiseEFiling/activeFilings.aspx
- **FDD year**: 2026
- **Extraction pipeline**: pdfplumber text extraction + Claude AI structured field extraction, validated against the canonical Item 5/6/7/19/20 sections.

## Available Reports

- **Free Tier 1 summary**: https://vetmyfranchise.com/franchise/steak-n-shake-enterprises-inc?utm_source=claude&utm_medium=ai_referral&utm_campaign=vmf_agent_md
- **Tier 2 personalized 12-section deep-dive report**: $4.99 (or $9.99 for a 3-pack of 3 reports — purchased on the franchise page)

## Related

- Browse other Food & Beverage franchises: https://vetmyfranchise.com/franchises/food-and-beverage?utm_source=claude&utm_medium=ai_referral&utm_campaign=vmf_agent_md
- Compare side-by-side: https://vetmyfranchise.com/compare?slugs=steak-n-shake-enterprises-inc&utm_source=claude&utm_medium=ai_referral&utm_campaign=vmf_agent_md
- Fees deep dive: https://vetmyfranchise.com/franchise/steak-n-shake-enterprises-inc/fees?utm_source=claude&utm_medium=ai_referral&utm_campaign=vmf_agent_md
- Item 19 financials: https://vetmyfranchise.com/franchise/steak-n-shake-enterprises-inc/financials?utm_source=claude&utm_medium=ai_referral&utm_campaign=vmf_agent_md
- Growth & Item 20: https://vetmyfranchise.com/franchise/steak-n-shake-enterprises-inc/growth?utm_source=claude&utm_medium=ai_referral&utm_campaign=vmf_agent_md
- Industry benchmark: https://vetmyfranchise.com/franchise/steak-n-shake-enterprises-inc/vs-industry?utm_source=claude&utm_medium=ai_referral&utm_campaign=vmf_agent_md