Decade after decade, hungry folks have been flocking to the corner of 10th St. and Emerson Ave. to fill their grumbling stomachs. The site started as home to the Northway Drive-In, a restaurant serving sandwiches, fountain drinks, and ice cream. In the late 1950's, the Laughner family, longtime Indianapolis restauranteurs, decided to tap into the booming drive-in business. They bought the site, built a modern structure, and began Laughner's Steer-In. Despite the family's notable food-service expertise, the venture wasn't especially successful, and they sold the business to Harold Phillips in 1964.

Rechristened Harolds's Steer-In, the restaurant became known for the Twin Steer burger. Curb service continued, and the Steer-In became a popular site for weekend cruising. In 1985 Harold expanded the restaurant to its present size. With the expansion he lost much of his parking and discontinued his curb service. Harold operated the restaurant for 37 years. In 2001 former employees were leasing and running the restaurant, and for some months in 2004 the restaurant closed down altogether.

In 2007 Charlie and Barbara Kehrer leased the restaurant, with some coaxing from their son Casey. Being East siders all of their lives the Kehrer's wanted to restore the restaurant to its better days and continue the tradition of the Steer-In being a family owned and operated business. An extensive facelift was given. In 2008 they purchased the restaurant from Harold and changed the name to the Historic Steer-In. The recipes for the coleslaw and coconut cream pie, from Harold are still being used. Casey now serves as General Manager.

The Kehrer family would like to thank you for your continued support. It is our dream to continue serving quality food on the East side for many years to come. Thank you, Charlie, Barbara, Casey, Jason, Jennifer, our extended family, Kristine, Jenny, Mike, and our wonderful grandchildren, Jackson, Kylie, Jakob, Nicholas, Samantha and Kate.