Steak 'n Shake — Restaurant in Tennessee

''Twas the night of Christmas and my friends and I wanted to get some food. I know, I know. It's Christmas... but this place was open, and we were hungry. We're decent folks, polite most of the time due to being raised properly. I regret to say that my proper raising and polite manners were very nearly (not quite - but nearly) thrown out of the grubby window of the Mt. Juliet Steak 'n Shake. One of my friends is also writing a review; to see her account of this epic account, scroll down. Anyways, I arrived later than my friends; they were waiting for me at the front of the restaurant like good friends do. Upon arrival, I was told that we couldn't be seated yet, and the food require a wait of anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. I laughed, thinking this was some kind of joke. The dining area was filled with nothing but empty tables, save for a couple groups of three or four in the back corner. The drive thru was similarly deserted, with a tumbleweed rolling gently in the breeze between the two cars in line. But alas, I looked like a fool, laughing to myself, because it was true - the wait was really that long, and those empty chairs clearly were unfit for sitting in. So, there was nothing for us to do but wait. And wait. And wait. And, finally, wait some more. Occasionally, one of the staff members would pass by, and mention that someone would be there to seat us soon. It felt kind of like when my math professor kept telling the class he'd give us extra credit and round our grades up. It gave me a glimmer of hope, but mostly crushing depression because I knew it would never happen. Exasperated, her stomach roaring like Mufasa as he plummeted to his death, one of my friends grabbed a few menus and we seated ourselves. Spotting this brilliance, one of the parties behind us did the same. One of the staff walked over and then informed us yet again that the food was likely to arrive in an hour or so. Upon inquiry as to why, the lady snapped at us, telling us that "we're busy; I don't know what you want me to say". The party of people next to us in the virtually deserted dining room looked crestfallen, much like I did when I failed my math final. Their sorrowful faces looked happier as one of the waitresses came to give them drinks and take their order. Our table, who had been waiting for 45 minutes at this point, began to get irritated. Now, keep in mind that we're a fairly chill crowd. We've dealt with bad service before. But this, this was different. Not only had the group behind us received drinks before us, but their order had also been taken. The waitress hadn't so much as glanced our way. We waited some more. And then we waited some more. Are you getting the point yet? We waited for over an hour, and hadn't even been asked if we'd like to sit down. Finally, we stood to leave. My legs creaked like the tin man from the Wizard of Oz. I'm pretty sure my joints had rusted in place from all that waiting. I'm not telling this saga to be a pain in the butt; like I said, I'm a pretty patient person. But the rude attitudes, lousy communication, and utter disregard of customers makes it highly unlikely that this establishment will ever get business from me or my friends again. All I wanted for Christmas was a hot burger and some fries, but it didn't happen. Steak 'n Shake at MJ, I hope you're prepared for coal next year, because I hear you're on the...

Changing my original review due to the overall decline in all fast food places and the constant price rising. We had not eaten here in months and decided to try it out recently. We went a few weeks back and ate inside and I was surprised to see you order at a kiosk when you walk in and then they call your name with the food at the counter that you have to go get when it's ready. We tried again tonight because I was craving some chili from there and we utilized the drive thru. I ordered a large double steak burger combo and my wife ordered a single bacon steak burger combo. I was given a medium drink that i then had to ask to be given back and changed out for a large. And my wife was told if she wanted a drink it would be full price because the bacon steakburger combo doesn't come with a drink, only fries. But it's around 6 dollars. The medium drink was another 2 dollars and 60 cents. So right under 9 dollars. The LARGE DOUBLE bacon steak burger combo I got was right at 9 dollars. So because my wife doesn't have the same urge as me to be a big fat loaf we are forced to pay more money for less food. What a stupid price plan this company has. Also I ordered a bowl of chili. I was given an 8oz container (that's what it said on the bottom of the container) and it was 5 dollars and some change. I can now buy this chili in Kroger across the street. A 15oz can of it is 4 dollars. Had I known this, once again completely stupid pricing, was in place I would have just got some at the store and not went to steak and shake at all. Lastly, I mentioned my combo I requested was large size. My wife's was normal. I was given a container of fries that looked pretty lacking so for fun I took them out and put them in the medium container my wife got. It fit perfectly lol. Photo of the "large" half full container of the fries included. Steak and Shake used to be the best. You would walk in and a host would seat you. A waiter would come over and take your order bring your kid one their hats. Everything there was served on actual plates and in actual bowls and it felt like you were in an old school diner. Now it feels just lole the rest of the spots where they give you smaller and smaller things in packages that will fill more and more landfills as they raise prices and cut the amount of workers they have so they can pay for billionaires to have more boats. If you want their chili, buy it in the store for double the value. If you want their fries, buy a pack of frozen fries at the store and microwave it because it was about the same experience. If you want their burgers, go pay the same amount at a sit down place. I mean not that they are any better but at Chilis you can get a 3 course meal with a burger included for 10 dollars. Don't eat here, it's only adding to...

I hadn't been to a Steak 'n Shake in ages, but the chilly weather today made me think that a nice, hot Chili 5-way would really hit the spot. This is the first time I visited since they switched to the “no-service” business model, and the whole experience was just awful. I don’t mind using a kiosk to place my order in a fast-food restaurant; in fact, I prefer it so that I know that the order was at least entered correctly. But the rest of the experience was surreal. When you walk into any place of business, you expect to see some signs of life. But here…nothing. Kiosks and a big void where the cashier used to be. That “coldness” was matched by the A/C unit blasting out frigid air, making it roughly the same temperature as it was outside. I have never gone to this chain for the ambiance or service, but geez…this was just depressing. Then I saw the note attached to the kiosk, listing all of the items they were out of today. At that point I paused, thought about leaving, and then decided to stick it out to see how comically bad it could get! When I completed my order, it asked if I wanted to leave a tip for the crew. Ummm…what crew? I didn’t want to waste the money if it turned out that none of the employees actually showed up today. I need “proof of life” before I tip. After getting my drink and sitting down, a shadowy figure popped out from behind the drink machine, barked a name, and disappeared. What the…? Was that an actual employee, or a big cuckoo clock??? The cuckoo finally barked my name, and I was presented with a watery mess that was missing ingredients and the extra cheese I ordered. Adding to the “We are indifferent that you’re here!” vibe, the plastic utensils were about the flimsiest I have ever encountered. Ever try and eat spaghetti with a flexible fork? It has just enough “spring” to it to mostly just fling oily brown splatters onto anything within a three-foot radius. Between the rubber fork and an equally worthless spoon, I was finally able to get more in my mouth than on my shirt. I supposed I could have saved time by just dumping it all on my shirt to begin with. Seriously, if a business has to cut back to the point where they have NOTHING to offer to customers, what is the point of keeping the doors open at all? The chain has been dying a slow, agonizing death over the last few years, but the plug now needs to be pulled on this vegetable. In summary, other than the creepy atmosphere and the inedible food, everything...