ISLAMORADA -- Miami Dolphins legendary coach Don Shula has conquered the steak business. Now he is tackling burgers, albeit gourmet versions of the American classic with toppings that include fresh goat cheese, sliced avocados and crushed garlic croutons.

“I’m a meat-eater,” Shula said. “I like steak, but I also like hamburgers.”

The first Shula Burger opened last month in the Florida Keys, near the World Famous Tiki Bar at the newly renovated resort complex now called Postcard Inn at Holiday Isle.

It is restaurant No. 33 and concept No. 6 of a restaurant empire whose franchises have expanded far beyond Shula’s friendly home turf.

They are in 16 states, as far west as Arizona. Shula has attended every grand opening, and eaten at every restaurant bearing his name. “You can tell I haven’t missed many meals,” he said laughing in reference to his ample gut.

Many of his restaurants are in NFL cities of Dolphin rivals. “But, we don’t have one in Buffalo,” Shula said with a grin. The Bills once lost 20 straight games to his Dolphins in the 1970s.

Shula thrives on competition. But 22 years ago he entered the grinding restaurant business as reluctantly as 300-pound linemen arrive for two-a-day practices in summer heat and humidity.

David Younts, who was president of the hospitality division of the Graham Cos. that owned the Miami Lakes Inn and Golf Resort, prodded Shula into finally agreeing to lend his legendary name to the resort’s struggling Legends Steak House.

It became Shula’s Steak House and was themed around the Dolphins 1972 undefeated season. They featured a 48-ounce porterhouse.

In the first year, revenue went from less than $1 million to $3 million plus. “The food was good. People enjoyed it,” Shula said. “I thought, ‘This is not so bad.’ ”

For most sport-celebrity eating establishments, sizzle is followed by fizzle. Shula’s steak house not only flourished, its sustained success led to more upscale steakhouses. To date, 37,426 of Shula’s 48-ounce porterhouses have been eaten, including 187 by Taff Parker of South Carolina.

“The Shula name is almost like a cult, synonymous with success; nobody has had a perfect season except Miami,” said TV chef Walter Staib, a Philadelphia-based restaurant consultant who helped develop the Shula brand during its first 15 years. “Standards were set very high at the beginning, and they never changed course. That’s why the Shula brand became so powerful.”

Premium Black Angus steaks were purchased from one source, specially aged and specially packaged, with no middle man. “So a 32-ounce steak was a 32-ounce steak 365 days a year,” Staib said. “It was not like other restaurants, where steaks shrink at the end of the month.”

Shula, who likes his steaks medium well, demanded perfection in those early years. Staib said: “He was one tough boss. One thing went wrong, and you got your butt kicked. He used his coaching ways. Don’t screw up on my team.”

With the success of the upscale steak houses, the restaurant company began other concepts for franchises. Shula’s 347 Grill, named after his record 347 NFL coaching victories, is a mid-priced restaurant.

They also have Shula’s 2 Steak & Sports (casual sports bar), Shula’s Bar & Grill (for airports, including a recently opened one at Miami International Airport) and Shula’s On the Beach (waterfront dining that includes seafood).