Steak n Shake to close 57 restaurants nationwide

The parent company of hamburger chain Steak n Shake said it is closing 57 restaurants nationwide due to declining sales resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the company's first quarter 2020 report.

Texas-based Biglari Holdings Inc. said it will close 51 company-owned and six franchise restaurants. Specific locations were not announced in the report.

“COVID-19 pandemic had an adverse effect on our restaurant operations, thereby resulting in the evaluation of company-operated restaurants for recoverability,” according to the report.

First quarter sales at Biglari's restaurant holdings, which includes Steak n Shake and Western Sizzler, were down almost $60 million from 2019 as the restaurants were forced to close dine-in operations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company warned the pandemic would continue to have negative effects on operations and “could prove to be worse than we currently estimate.”

Steak n Shake operates 28 restaurants in the Chicago metro area, according to its website. Suburban locations include Mount Prospect, Rosemont, Downers Grove, Elk Grove Village and Glendale Heights. The iconic restaurant was founded in downstate Normal in 1934. The chain had more than 400 restaurants nationwide in 2018, according to Wikipedia.