Representatives of Star City have confirmed the town’s on-again-off-again Steak ‘n Shake is officially back on again.
“They’ve got their building permit, so we’re just waiting on them to break ground,” Bobby Doyle said. “Hopefully that will be in the next week or two.”
This is the second time in recent years the franchise has been confirmed for Star City. Representatives of franchisee HEERA, LLC told The Dominion Post in August 2018 that the restaurant was scheduled to open in early 2019.
But that project never got off the ground.
Doyle, who serves as the town’s building code official, said the location is the same as before, in the area of 3510 Monongahela Blvd. — across from Texas Roadhouse.
He also said the timing is fortuitous, as Texas Roadhouse is preparing to leave Star City for Westover as part of the WestRidge development.
“It’s good to be able to bring something in to kind of replace Texas Roadhouse,” Doyle said.
But there’s more shakin’ in Star City than a popular new burger joint.
Mayor Herman Reid said the current ownership of Hotel M, located at 1400 Saratoga Ave., is working with a New York-based investor on a project to tear down the hotel and build luxury apartments.
“It has the potential to be a $30-to-$40 million project. He’s talking about underground parking, an indoor pool, on-site daycare,” Reid said. “It would be a real nice shot in the arm for Star City and help clean that area up over there.”
To facilitate that project, the town council recently amended Star City building code, bumping the maximum building height from 35 feet to 100 feet.
“He’s working with March-Westin to get a price-per-floor to see how many stories he’s going to go,” Doyle said.
In addition, a project is in the works to bring a new business to the old Hughart’s building, on Industrial Avenue.
More immediately, Reid said, the town is busy paving. All of Herman Avenue is getting a new surface. A portion of Springdale has been completed and a number of streets that have been gravel since the town’s founding are now wearing asphalt.
“I’m excited about the paving and some of the work we’re doing this summer. Our police department is fully staffed. We have a new chief and she seems to be doing a great job, and we have a number of projects in the works,” he said. “It’s a good time right now for Star City, this next year or so. I really believe that.”
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