After opening its first two California restaurants in 2014, iconic burger chain Steak ’n Shake is unveiling its first Orange County restaurant next month.

(5/23 update: Steak ‘n Shake opens today, chain officials confirmed)

The first two restaurants opened in late 2014 in Santa Monica and Victorville. A third opened later in Burbank. The Aliso Viejo restaurant will be Steak ’n Shake’s fourth California restaurant.

The openings are part of the chain’s expansion into the West, which is picking up steam this year. Another restaurant is slated to open this summer in Riverside, said Jim Flaniken, senior vice president of marketing at Steak Steak ’n Shake.

“There are several other California locations likely to open in the second half of 2016,” Flaniken said.

Owned by Texas-based Biglari Holdings, Steak ’n Shake’s reputation back East rivals that of In-N-Out. The first restaurant opened in 1934 in Illinois, selling a menu of house-ground steak burgers and hand-spun shakes. It now operates hundreds of restaurants across the East Coast, Midwest and Southern regions of the U.S.

The menu includes ground steak burgers, hand-cut fries and milkshakes. The throwback dining rooms feature black and white floors, and red chairs and barstools. The hybrid-style restaurant is a full service diner inside, but also operates with a drive-through lane. It is often described as a cross between In-N-Out and Ruby’s Diner.

During the Great Recession, Steak ’n Shake sales and customer traffic tanked. The chain was losing nearly $100,000 per day, according to a 2015 regulatory filing. By 2010, sales began to turnaround after new leadership was installed.

In 2015, the company generated $1 billion in sales at its 561 domestic and international locations, according to market research firm Technomic in Chicago. That’s up from $786 million in 2010. Average annual sales at each restaurant is $1.9 million, Technomic reported.

The Aliso Viejo restaurant, slated to open in mid-May, “represents our classic, dine-in with drive-thru concept,” Flaniken said in a statement to the Register.

The hours will be 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Address: 27002 La Paz Road.

The Riverside location is at 6231 Valley Springs Parkway.

Contact the writer: nluna@ocregister.com