Tad's Steaks

Tad's Steaks is a low-cost restaurant, and former chain. The first location, opened in 1955, was at 120 Powell Street in San Francisco. The chain eventually grew to a peak of 28 restaurants, eight of which were in New York. In 2019, the last location in New York closed, leaving just the original San Francisco location which has since relocated to 44 Ellis Street, around the corner from the original location. The chain was founded by Donald Townsend and his younger brother Neal, who named it after Alan Tadeus Kay, his friend and business partner.

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 the elder Townsend; it was designed to look like charcoal, but was cleaner and easier to regulate.

Eliminating waiters by having customers take their food to tables on trays saved costs, as did relying on word-of-mouth for publicity instead of advertising. In 1957, a meal of a T-bone steak with garlic bread, a baked potato, and a salad cost $1.09. In 1989, an entrée ranged from $2.99 to $6.99.