After a few months of debate, Campbell will be home to the first Steak ‘n Shake restaurant in Northern California.

The city council voted unanimously Oct. 20 to approve the popular Midwest burger and shake chain’s plan to come to the city. Before coming the council vote, the road to approval went through the city planning commission and was slowed by two resident appeals to stop the restaurant from coming to Campbell Avenue.

The family-style restaurant will occupy the former Tread bike shop space in the Lloyd Square Shopping Center right outside the core downtown strip. City council and staff members remarked that the Steak ‘n Shake could help extend the downtown. Daniel Fama, an associate planner for the city, noted the restaurant will help the city’s plan to make the Pruneyard, downtown core and everything in between into a cohesive downtown.

“It makes sense for bringing the two areas together,” said Mayor Jeffrey Cristina.

City council approved the restaurant’s location with a few conditions. Steak ‘n Shake will need to offer VTA passes to employees and pay half the cost while employees pay the remaining half of the passes in an effort to reduce parking needs.

Steak ‘n Shake will also need to provide bike racks for cyclists and reserve one parking spot for to-go orders. That parking spot will have a 15-minute time limit.

Daniel Leder, the CEO of Cowlick Inc., holds the franchise rights to Bay Area Steak ‘n Shake locations. He described the restaurant as place for families to enjoy an affordable meal.

Some residents living near the proposed Steak ‘n Shake expressed concern that the 118-seat restaurant would worsen traffic on East Campbell Avenue and spill over onto the streets leading into nearby neighborhoods, such as Page Street.

“I’m not going to hold Lloyd Square responsible for the traffic now,” said Councilman Michael Kotowski, while acknowledging traffic on East Campbell Avenue has increased over the years.

The Lloyd Square Shopping Center currently has 88 parking spaces in its lot and an additional 40 street spaces available to employees and visitors. Parking was an issue for residents and a few business owners in the shopping center, especially when Steak ‘n Shake looked for approval to reduce the required 51 parking spots. At a community meeting back in August, Lloyd Square owner Bruce Bowmen said the 88 parking spots are rarely used to capacity.

Residents also had concerns about odors and noise that may come from the restaurant during operating hours.

Of the two appeals filed, one was from a resident who works as a traffic engineer and another came from a resident group called Save Downtown Campbell. More than 300 residents signed an online petition stating their opposition to the proposed Steak ‘n Shake location.

In response to the traffic concerns, the city council directed staff to look into a traffic study focusing on Page Street and Popular Avenue near the square.

Much to the surprise of the council members and audience, no representatives from Save Downtown Campbell attended the meeting.