All so true; before we moved out of Marion County, our southside home had three Steak 'n Shakes within reasonable driving distance. Only one was reasonably good, but it, too, went downhill.
No attention to any kind of quality or customer service.
I-69 expansion just killed the store at Southport Road and SR 37; I have no idea how it possibly managed to stay open until the INDOT buyout.
In the distant past (it seems) we made a practice of attending the State Fair when our kids had projects advance from our local county to state. This happened fairly frequently. We usually stayed in the Drury Inn at 69 and 465 on Shadeland. There is (was?) a Steak and Shake just off of Binford. Went there 3 times over the years. 1st time, slow service. Gave then another try on a later trip.....horrific service. 3rd try, I'm forgiving....no order take for 45 minutes. Left. But hey, anyone can have a single bad store.
Friends wanted to hit the Steak and Shake in Merrillville...I would have preferred not to. Took the order promptly...food took almost and hour.
When the kids were younger, we had a little Christmas tree tradition where we cut our own (points east of Valpo) and came back to the Steak and Shake in Valpo for lunch after. That was fine for a few years (early to mid 2000s), but eventually, the service got slower and slower until I had had enough. No more. They had closed down the Valpo store and recently reopened it. I don't know why.
I have committed myself. Never again.
I have not been to a sit-down restaurant since March (I wonder why), but since about 2010, whereever I was, I have always sought out the local Greek family diner. I have not been disappointed.