Two New Restaurants Planned for CMN

Mike Stennett plans to buy 1.1 acres of land from Macerich Co. to build a 4,180-SF Steak n Shake restaurant in Fayetteville between the McDonald’s on Joyce Boulevard and the Northwest Arkansas Mall.

Stennett said the restaurant will seat 106 diners and will have a drive-through window.

This is the first Steak n Shake for Stennett, whose father has been with the company for 41 years. Stennett was manager of one of his father’s two Steak n Shake restaurants in Branson, Mo.

Stennett said he’s not sure when construction will start, but it takes about three months to build a Steak n Shake restaurant. He said he is shooting for sales of about $1.9 million for the Fayetteville restaurant’s first year.

Stennett said he also plans to open two Steak n Shakes in Benton County and possibly one in south Fayetteville.

As of June 30, there were 416 Steak n Shake restaurants operating in 18 states, including 357 company-owned restaurants and 59 franchised units. Founded in 1934 in Normal, Ill., Steak n Shake is one of the oldest restaurant chains in the United States.

This will be the only Steak n Shake in Arkansas. Steak n Shake restaurants once operated in North Little Rock and Jonesboro, but both of those are closed now.

Steak n Shake had $499.1 million in sales last year, up 8.3 percent from $460.8 million in 2002. Net income, however, was down 9.5 percent from $23.1 million in 2002 to $20.9 million in 2003.