An oversized Stars and Stripes flapping in the wind and glittering gold packaging are the first signs that a beloved burger chain has taken a markedly MAGA turn.
But it’s the lack of seed oils and microwaves that is the dead giveaway that Steak n’ Shake has gone all in on Donald Trump’s Make America Healthy Again movement.
Embracing Trump and Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr with open arms, the fast food chain has launched a MAHA menu featuring 100% beef tallow fries, cane sugar Coca-Cola, Grade A Wisconsin butter, and A2 whole milk.
This past June, the restaurant introduced 100 percent grass-fed, grass-finished beef burgers nationwide.
As a result, owner Sardar Biglari said in his annual letter to shareholders that the company’s financial performance in 2025 was ‘the biggest story of the year,’ with a 13 percent increase in same-store sales over the past year, and 10.7 percent the year before that.
He chalked much of the success up to the newly created position of ‘Chief MAHA Officer’ Michael Boes, who stepped into the role to ‘restore the original spirit of American fast food.’
With the rollout of the MAHA menu, Boes emphasized the restaurant’s dedication to nutritional integrity and ingredient transparency.
‘Customers should never have to choose between taste and health, when restaurants commit to both, they serve better food and they build lasting trust,’ Boes said in a press release.
Steak n’ Shake, a beloved American burger chain, has embraced the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement in support of Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. and MAGA
Sardar Biglari, the owner of Steak n’ Shake and long-time conservative figure, hired Michael Boes from his previous role as Department of Health and Human Services staffer under the Trump administration
Some Steak n’ Shake promotions offered the first ten Tesla guests a free jar of beef tallow and a red hat with the slogan ‘make frying oil tallow again.’ The company has continued their efforts to ‘restore the original spirit of American fast food’
The changes are not limited to only food ingredients. The company has also removed microwaves from all of its locations across Michigan, Indiana, Colorado, and so on.
‘Quality restaurants don’t need microwaves. It is part of our journey to improve food quality and use traditional methods of cooking only. Eat Real Food,’ they wrote in a Facebook statement.
Major MAGA figures like Marjorie Taylor Greene have showcased their support of the chain-restaurant, with the ex-Congresswoman celebrating Secretary Kennedy’s MAHA before she fell out with Trump.
‘I just had a cheeseburger and fries cooked in beef tallow today for lunch! Delicious,’ Greene said in a Twitter post. Alongside her message was a picture of Secretary Kennedy Jr visiting the Steak ‘n Shake Florida location.
Other MAGA figures like Elon Musk and Lara Trump, wife of Eric Trump, have also publicly supported the chain.
A viral X exchange between Musk and Steak n’ Shake prompted Tesla to launch a partnership with the restaurant to install supercharger stations at over 100 of its US locations.
‘The only burger chain in America to switch to 100% Beef Tallow. No chemicals, no preservatives. Just pure quality! That’s called leadership,’ wrote the Steak n’ Shake social media.
Musk replied in a comment: ‘And the fries taste way better!’
In August, Lara Trump visited a Steak n’ Shake chain during an interview segment to talk with Boes. They sparked conversation around previous misconceptions on the food pyramid that placed protein above carbs and how the menu has adapted to Secretary Kennedy Jr’s updated model.
‘We live and exist in a time right now where you finally have transparency in a space where I think for so long people were just kind of blind,’ said Trump.
Boes wrote in a LinkedIn post: ‘The media’s embrace of our MAHA changes has been remarkable. I truly enjoyed my conversation with Lara Trump, who is a genuine MAHA mom.’
Major MAGA figures have showcased their support of the chain-restaurant such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, the conservative Republican politician. ‘I just had a cheeseburger and fries cooked in beef tallow today for lunch! Delicious,’ she wrote in a Twitter post
The MAHA menu features 100% beef tallow fries, cane sugar Coca-Cola, Grade A Wisconsin butter, and A2 whole milk
This past June they recently introduced in 100 percent grass-fed grass-finished beef burgers nationwide
For America’s 250th anniversary of its founding, the restaurant offered milkshakes for as low as $2.50 for all of January
The changes are not limited to only food ingredients as they’ve also altered their cooking methods. In a Facebook post, Steak n’ Shake shared the removal of all microwaves from its multiple locations across Michigan, Indiana, Colorado and more
Customers nationwide have shared their praise for patriotic deals that offer free giveaways and low prices.
For America’s 250th anniversary, the restaurant offered milkshakes for as low as $2.50 for all of January. Another promotion offered the first ten Tesla guests a free jar of beef tallow and a red hat with the slogan ‘make frying oil tallow again.’
Yet despite Secretary Kennedy Jr’s push against ultra processed foods and seed-oils, health experts have questioned how much the MAHA movement has helped overall health habits.
Alison Steiber, chief impact officer for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, told the Wall Street Journal: ‘Regardless of how you fry your french fries, they are still fried’
