Dive Brief:

• Steak ‘n Shake is installing biometric facial recognition check-in and checkout tech across its 300 U.S. locations through a partnership with PopID, the companies said in a press release Monday.
• The chain is the first to adopt this technology nationwide, the press release claims. 
• The restaurant originally tested PopID’s technology in one kiosk in a single location and then expanded it to 25 kiosks in five locations in October, PopID CFO Sean Olson wrote in an email to Restaurant Dive. PopID began rolling out the technology across Steak ‘n Shake’s system in January and expects to complete the implementation by the end of April.  

Dive Insight:

PopID uses facial recognition technology to allow customers to pay with their face and claims that this can make kiosk ordering “faster, easier and more personalized,” the press release said. PopID partnered with Acrelec, a supplier of kiosk-ordering hardware and drive-thru products, which has worked with Steak ‘n Shake for years. The partnership keeps installation costs low and speeds up the deployment, the companies said.

PopID provided a software development kit and biometric camera to the kiosk provider, which integrated this technology into their kiosks within about two weeks, Olson said. Biometric options are currently available for all ordering and payment inside the restaurants, and PopID will implement the check-in and checkout at drive-thru units. 

“Similar to the kiosks, biometric check in can increase loyalty participation and revenue at the drive thru while also reducing payment processing costs,” said John Miller, CEO of PopID and chairman of Cali Group. “Additionally, biometric payment at the order confirmation screen enables staff members to work on tasks other than taking payments by card and phone at the order pick-up window.”

Steak ‘n Shake began introducing self-order kiosks a few years ago as part of a transformation that eventually led the chain to move away from full-service to a self-service format, according to the parent company Biglari Holdings’ 2023 annual report. The company’s transformation, which included a new point-of-sales system, cutting hours from 24 hours to 14 hours and eliminating menu items, grew per-employee annual sales from $64,000 in 2019 to $135,000 in 2023, the annual report said. 

Facial recognition software was the next step in speeding up its self-service ordering process. Check-in and check out with PopID takes two to three seconds, Olson said. Olson claimed that check-in with a QR code and mobile app can take between five and 20 seconds, while check-out with a credit card can take five to 15 seconds. ApplePay can take roughly five to seven seconds if the user has their phone ready.

The chain will also work on upgrading its drive-thru technology with digital menu boards. 

“We will keep refining our operating system, from ordering to food assembly, to increase the speed of service while making our products more uniform,” the company said in the annual report.