Steak ‘n Shake has stopped flirting with MAGA-coded branding and just committed to it. Since switching to beef tallow fries in January 2025, a move that aligned the chain with RFK Jr.’s anti-seed-oil “Make America Healthy Again” push, the burger chain has kept leaning in rather than backing off.
COO Dan Edwards put it bluntly on Fox News: “We RFK’ed our fries.” That line turned out to be the opening move, not the whole strategy.
The branding keeps escalating
Steak ‘n Shake’s X account now posts Tesla-themed imagery alongside red hats styled after MAGA merchandise and printed with slogans like “Make Frying Oil Tallow Again.” The account has reposted endorsements from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and from Laura Loomer, who posted a photo of herself dining at one of the chain’s locations.
The menu changes have kept pace with the messaging. The chain rolled out cane-sugar Coca-Cola, Grade A Wisconsin butter and A2 whole milk, and in June 2026 it added 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef burgers nationwide. It has also moved to accept Bitcoin payments at all locations, a policy it began rolling out in 2025 and has since expanded into a broader company identity, including a bitcoin bonus for hourly employees.
The bet appears to be paying off
Marketing researchers quoted in the Washington Post’s original reporting on the pivot called it a “Hail Mary” strategy built for a polarized customer base, the kind of move that risks alienating half the country to energize the other half.
So far the numbers back the gamble. Biglari Holdings, Steak ‘n Shake’s parent company, reported same-store sales growth of 13.8% in the second quarter of 2026, following double-digit growth in the first quarter. The chain has described fiscal 2025 as its best same-store sales performance since 1992, and it has continued adding to its bitcoin holdings, which now total roughly $15 million, while citing lower transaction costs compared to credit card processing.
Whether the strategy holds up over a longer stretch, or whether the polarization it courts eventually cuts the other way, is still an open question. For now, a chain that spent years fading into the background of American fast food has turned itself into one of its most talked-about brands by picking a side loudly and sticking with it.
Sources: The Washington Post · NBC News · QSR Magazine
