Eventually, the couple acquired every store in the strip mall, converting the spaces to expand their restaurant. They created a sort of Sunbelt Versailles with classical statuary, busts in elaborate gold frames, chandeliers and wrought-iron sconces, bestowing every dining room in the complex with its own décor. “My father seized on the steak house as the All-American idiom of abundance and affluence, but he sophisticated it with a quirky elegance,” said David Laxer, the couple’s son. By the 1970s, the restaurant’s wine list had become so extensive that Bernard Laxer had to expand the cellar. His wine collection grew to be one of the largest in America. Bern’s has held the Wine Spectator’s Grand Award, the magazine’s top award for restaurants, since 1981.

NOW

Though Bern’s Steak House turned 65 last year, its popularity has rarely dimmed. To snag a table during prime time, you’ll typically need to book months in advance. Now David runs the place his parents founded, along with the neighboring Epicurean Hotel, a second restaurant called Haven and a wine store.

At the original establishment, Bernard’s many inventions are still in operation, including the coffee roaster used to toast the restaurant’s own blend of beans and another machine to flour their much-loved onion rings. The kitchen still sources vegetables from a farm fertilized by compost generated by the restaurant—another of Bernard’s brain waves. Perhaps his last great contribution was the restaurant’s dessert room, which opened in 1985. Once they’ve polished off their steaks, diners are ushered to booths made from old redwood wine casks to conclude their meals by choosing from a selection of desserts and after-dinner drinks.

According to David Laxer, the biggest evolution at Bern’s lies in the meat of the matter: “Though filet mignon is still our bestselling cut, we’re selling more and more Delmonicos, as people choose flavor and texture over the traditional American preference for tenderness.”

Bastions on the Bay

Three other longstanding favorite tables in Tampa, Fla.

Perpetually Cook

Still run by its founding family, the Cuban-Spanish Columbia opened in 1905 in Ybor City, the Tampa district where most of America’s cigars were once rolled. Florida’s oldest restaurant was also one of Tampa’s first to offer air-conditioning, and it now operates five other branches across the Sunshine State. It’s famous for dishes like ropa vieja (shredded steak cooked with onions, peppers and tomatoes) and boliche Criollo (beef stuffed with chorizo). On Friday and Saturday nights, locals stream to the Ybor City location for the live band.

Burgers for Breakfast

Goody Goody, Tampa’s most famous burger bar, opened in 1925, closed in 2005, and then, after being bought by the Columbia Restaurant group, reopened in 2016 in South Tampa’s Hyde Park Village—2 miles from its original location in downtown Tampa. The locals love its burgers with POX (pickles, onions, secret sauce) and maybe a glug of homemade ketchup. Breakfast, served all day, is a big deal here. Among the more decadent options is the Goody Goody Slinger, with two beef patties, two over-easy eggs, home fries, chili, cheddar cheese and jalapeños.

Essential Pit Stop

Now that long-running Kojak’s House of Ribs has closed in South Tampa and decamped to suburban Seffner, Jimbo’s Pit Bar-B-Q claims the crown as Tampa’s oldest barbecue. Harold “Happy” Lehman opened it in 1970 and it’s still smoking. The barbecue pork sandwich that cost 45 cents back then now goes for $5.75, but even the small size packs a lot of juicy meat.

Reality Check

The cost, then and now, of Bern’s Steak House classics

House salad

1960: $0.25

2022: $8.00

N.Y. strip 12 oz.

1960: $2.00

2022: $49.00

Filet Mignon 8 oz.

1960: $2.15

2022: $45.00

Slice of banana cream pie

1960: $0.20

2022: $11.00