The Hidden Meaning Behind Steak 'N Shake's Original Slogan
If you're looking for a step up from the typical fast-food burger, Steak 'n Shake may be the spot for you. According to the restaurant's website, the diner-style eatery has been serving up delicious, "premium" steakburgers for its customers to devour since 1934, as well as a vast array of milkshakes that, per its November 2020 menu, are now offered in 18 different flavors.
As with most fast-casual restaurant chains, you may be curious about the freshness of Steak n' Shake's food, especially when it comes to their burgers. But unlike some restaurants that need to utilize social media to defend the quality of their food (we're looking at you, Wendy's), the burger joint has been proving the freshness of its menu items since the opening of its first location in Normal, Illinois.
Per Restaurant News, founder Gus Belt accompanied the name for his new eatery with the tagline "in sight it must be right." However, this was more than just a catchy slogan for Steak 'n Shake – it was a promise, and Belt made sure his customers knew he kept it.
Gus Belt proved his food was "right" with a barrel of meat
Though it may be easy to decipher the meaning of Steak 'n Shake's original "in sight it must be right" slogan, founder Gus Belt wanted to make sure his customers got the gist and enlisted the help of a barrel.
According to Restaurant News, Belt would fill up a barrel packed with all the types of meats that went into his steakburgers – namely t-bones, sirloins, and round steaks – and push it through a crowded Steak 'n Shake restaurant for all of his customers to admire. He then proceeded to grind the meat and assemble the patties that went into the very same meal they were chowing down on right in front of their eyes.
The marketing ploy clearly worked, as Belt's famously fresh steakburgers were being devoured at an incredibly high rate – at one point in the 1930s, they even started delivering their food to docked boats (via Thrillist). These days, the eatery's website boasts over 550 locations in 28 states. And though you might not see a barrel full of fresh meat wheeled through the dining room during peak lunch hours, restaurants do still feature the chain's original open kitchen design, per Mental Floss, further guaranteeing the Steak 'n Shake promise that customers are getting meals that are "fresh, wholesome and the very finest quality."