All NewsNovember 23, 2025

Classic cheap steakhouse chain closed nearly all its restaurants

In my college days in the late 90s, we visited New York City often, but had a fairly limited budget for meals.

There were a lot of options. You could get a street vendor hot dog or a large slice of pizza for under $5. You might be able to go to Chinatown and eat for under $10, and fast food was still an option at an affordable price.

But nobody goes to Manhattan planning to eat at McDonald’s.

As you walked through the city, however, you would see signs for a steak dinner for $9. That seemed too good to be true, but it was a real thing.

Tad’s Steakhouse, which seemed like it was everywhere in New York City, actually made that offer. There were, however, some tradeoffs in exchange for the low prices.

How Tad’s Steakhouse worked

  • Customers lined up, ordered their steak at the counter, and watched it get cooked on the open charcoal grill.
  • You then carried your own tray with steak, baked potato, garlic bread, and salad.
  • Seating was open, like a cafeteria or a fast-food restaurant.
  • The restaurant had no table service, no servers taking orders, and typically no tipping. Source: Restaurant Business Online

The steak was tough and the sides were nothing special, but the price was right, and the overall experience was satisfying.

“Decades before the phrase ‘fast casual’ was coined, a restaurant concept little noticed outside of New York City was using a self-service format, rapid-fire cooking and a Chipotle-style production line to offer a steak meal for less than $9,” Restaurant Business Online reported.

“We’re not talking about something from the Roaring ’20s. Tad’s Steakhouse was grilling its strip steaks several dozen at a time to offer a bargain-price steak lunch until just a few years ago.”

The chain seems like it’s gone, but it actually has one location left, albeit one that no longer offers a $9 steak.

Tad’s Steakhouse offered a cheap steak at a good price.

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A look back at Tad’s Steakhouse pricing

At its peak, Tad’s Steakhouse had 28 locations, eight of them in New York City.

  • When Tad’s Steaks first opened (late 1950s), a T-bone steak lunch with garlic bread, a baked potato, and a salad cost $1.09.
  • By 1989, Tad’s entrée prices ranged from $2.99 to $6.99, per the chain’s own reported data.
  • Later in its run, the “dinner” steak price was around $9, though “with all the trimmings” (sides, etc.) it could go higher. Source: Forbes
  • Very late-stage (Times Square location, just before closing in 2020): Steak dinners were still around $9. Source: CBS News
  • For the remaining San Francisco Tad’s Steakhouse, current menu pricing (via SinglePlatform) shows: Tad’s Famous Steak: $30.99

    Ribeye Steak: $38.99

    Garlic Bread (side): $1.99

    Source: SinglePlatform

  • According to a menu PDF, the average price across its current San Francisco menu is $12.70. Source: WNAM

Tad’s Steakhouse left New York in 2020

Tad’s closed its iconic Times Square location in 2020 after a 60-year run.

When it closed, customers shared their thoughts with New York’s CBS2.

I’ve been going to Tad’s steakhouse since 1986. I was 17, I’m 51 now. It’s a tradition,” Simone Walker said.

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“This is the only place that I remember coming when my parents were still together and I was really young… and the food is good,” Oscar Salcedo recalled.

“I’m sad about you know, cause we liked it,” another longtime diner at Tad’s said.

History of Tad’s Steakhouse

  • Founded in the mid-1950s (1955 or 1957, depending on source) by Donald Townsend.
  • The name “Tad’s” comes from Alan Tadeus Kay, a business partner of Townsend. Source: The New York Sun
  • The first Tad’s was located on Powell Street in San Francisco.
  • By the late 1950s/early 1960s, the chain had expanded opening a second location opened in New York City (42nd Street).
  • At its peak, Tad’s had 28 locations nationwide, including 8 in NYC. Source: Eater NY
  • Known for its budget steakhouse model: very cheap steaks, cafeteria-style service, and “steak shows” where steaks were grilled in sight on open flame grills. Source: The New York Sun
  • Decor included red flocked wallpaper, fake Tiffany lamps, and neon signage, offering a nostalgic, working-class feel. Source: Eater NY
  • The Times Square location opened in 1960. Source: CBS News
  • The last NYC Tad’s (Times Square) closed on January 5, 2020, citing economic issues.
  • At the time of its closure, a steak dinner was still very affordable (compared to fine steakhouses), preserving its legacy as a “budget chophouse.” Source: The Gotham Reporter
  • Founder Donald Townsend died in 2000 at age 91.

“For some of a certain age, Tad’s was a special treat in the dining world for those of modest means and somewhat less-than-discerning taste palettes. Offering steak dinners at seemingly impossible prices — as low as a dollar and change when it first opened in 1957 to anywhere from $9 to about double that with all the trimmings now — Tad’s was a step-up from the fast food world,” Warren Shoulberg wrote at Forbes.