| Steak ‘n Shake on High Street closed July 20 ending its eight years of business. |
In a business move sure to stun some returning Ohio State students in the fall, Steak ‘n Shake permanently closed its doors at its North High location, July 20.
Plywood covered windows, a broken glass door and a blank white building front only remain to greet passing pedestrians at 1918 N. High St.
Bill Harnew, spokesman for Steak ‘n Shake, said the location was different from all other Steak ‘n Shake stores because business relied entirely on customers coming in off the street as it has no parking lot.
The High Street Steak ‘n Shake has been open since fall 1999. It was an experimental store with a new style, but the traffic pattern changed throughout time and the location had been under observation for possible closing during the last eight weeks, Harnew said.
Harnew said staff could not be decreased because occasional floods of guests were difficult to predict.
“There weren’t enough guests to maintain a consistent flow of work for servers and cooking staff,” he said.
Harnew said Steak ‘n Shake wants to find another location nearby, and is looking at several locations in the area. However, he said finding a location close to the OSU campus with space necessary for parking is difficult.
Jessica Hogue, a junior in international studies, was eating at the neighboring Charley’s Grilled Subs and expressed indifference to the closing. She said small expenses like tipping deterred her from eating there regularly.
The Steak ‘n Shake building is owned by Oxford Realty, but it is up to the restaurant to either continue paying rent on the building or find a new lessee.
Oliver Roberts, manager of UniversiTees neighboring the now vacant Steak ‘n Shake, said the location is heavily dependent on regular foot traffic. As a result, he said he gets most of his business during football season. Many students do not have enough time or money to eat regularly at a sit-down restaurant, and traffic is too variable for the restaurant to succeed at the location, he said.
UniversiTees will be moving to a new location, joining Noodles & Company in a recently built retail space near the corner of High Street and Lane Avenue. Both will open the second week of August. Other businesses already open in the development include Radio Shack and Diaspora, a restaurant serving Korean cuisine.
Benjamin Lammers can be reached at [email protected].
