Tad's Steaks
American restaurant chain / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tad's Steaks was a chain of low-cost restaurants. The first location, opened in 1955, was at 120 Powell Street in San Francisco.[1] The chain eventually grew to a peak of 28 restaurants, eight of which were in New York.[2] In 2019, the last location in New York closed, leaving just the original San Francisco location[3] which has since relocated to 44 Ellis Street, around the corner from the original location.[4] The chain was founded by Donald Townsend and his brother Neal, who named it after Alan Tadeus Kay, his friend and business partner.[5]
Founded | 1955 |
---|---|
Founder | Donald Townsend |
Products | Steaks |
Services | Restaurant |
Website | https://tadssf.com/ |
The restaurants were set up with a large cooking area at the front, visible though the front window; Townsend called this the "steak show". The meat, marinated in papaya juice to tenderize the inferior cuts used, was cooked over a type of tile invented by Townsend; it was designed to look like charcoal, but was cleaner and easier to regulate.[5]
Eliminating waiters by having customers take their food to tables on trays saved costs,[5] as did relying on word-of-mouth for publicity instead advertising.[6] In 1957, a meal of a T-bone steak with garlic bread, a baked potato, and a salad cost $1.09.[5] In 1989, entrées ranged from $2.99 to $6.99.[7]