A family-run business, Valle's aggressively expanded during the early 1970s but was unable to weather the financial challenges of the gas crisis and the resulting economic downturn; increasing labor costs, the death of its founder, and the changing dining habits of its customers.

[9] A large wait staff trained to provide prompt service allowed for a fast turnover of tables by keeping the average dinner time to less than an hour.

[10][11] Early in his career, Donald Valle bypassed regional meat suppliers and established exclusive agreements with Swift and Company in Chicago which shipped beef directly by rail car to his Maine restaurants.

[12] Vertically integrated, most of the company's beef originated from Valle's own ranch in Wyoming called the "Circle V" and was then shipped to slaughterhouses in Chicago.

In a 1965 interview with the Boston Globe Richard Valle showed off a $50,000 automatic dishwashing machine located in the kitchen of the chain's new $1.5 million Braintree, Massachusetts, restaurant.

Valle also pointed out the row of broilers and the large, in-house bakery that allowed the Braintree location to serve 5,000 customers a day.

[18] In the wake of the collapse, Donald Valle stated that the level of control demanded by Campbell would have been detrimental to the continued success of the chain.

Valle's had also agreed to sell a parcel of land next to its Hartford restaurant to a national motel chain for $325,000 and to serve as the hotel's sole banquet, lounge, and dining facility.

Growing inflation, unemployment and rising gas prices caused Richard Valle to warn investors that although the company would continue to expand, earnings would not be able to maintain their momentum.

[25] Combined with declining sales and increasing costs from the firm's continued expansion, in 1981 Richard and Judith Valle attempted to sell their controlling shares in the company to a group of non-family executives and private investors for $17,500,000.

At the time of the proposed sale, the Valle family and its trusts owned 66.7% of the company's 2.5 million common stock shares outstanding.

[7] The last three Valle's Steak House restaurants operating as part of Hanson's corporation closed on Friday, December 27, 1991.

Valle's was also faulted for the straight line architecture of its large dining rooms that caused some critics to compare the restaurant to a cafeteria.

[37] Other critics questioned the wisdom of using a regional New England menu in southern locations such as Atlanta where customers of the early 1970s were unfamiliar with clam chowder, baked stuffed lobsters, and New England–style pot roast.

[14] — Former Valle's managerValle's Steak House was a landmark East Coast restaurant for decades and continues to be discussed in various articles and on blog sites.

Valle's Steak House, once located at 465 William S. Canning Boulevard, Fall River, has been gone for nearly 30 years but still brings back fond memories for many locals.

"[41] The Braintree restaurant that was once the largest and one of the busiest in the chain subsequently became a "Hilltop Steak House" and served in that capacity until 2006 when it was torn down to make way for a Toyota dealership.

[42][43] The location is remembered for then presidential candidate Ronald Reagan making a 1980 campaign speech at a South Shore Chamber of Commerce luncheon held in the restaurant's main banquet room.