The History Of Edward's Steakhouse

.The Formative Years

The birth of Edward’s Steak House dates to the early 1940’s when Edward Rausch was a butcher in a meat market on Wilshire Blvd. and San Vicente Blvd. in Los Angeles. This is where Edward’s love for the meat business started. It was from this hands-on experience that you enjoyed our Super Lean Ground Beef and delicious steaks for decades. It is a secret why our Super Lean Ground Beef was so popular and one of the favorites on the menu. I’ll just say, “trim, trim, trim”.

Edward’s first venture into the restaurant business was “Edward’s Coffee Shop” on Olive Street in downtown Los Angeles. While it was a successful operation, the landlord eventually sold the property to make way for a Robinson’s Department Store. Edward, now without a job or a restaurant, became a real estate broker. 

The Birth of a Legend

One of his first real estate listings was a small coffee shop with 3 tables and 9 stools at the counter. Considering his interest in the food business, Edward bought the coffee shop in 1946 and the rest is history.

The year 1946 was quite eventful. Edward met the love of his life, Lynette, and they were married in August. Lynette was at his side every day and truly the support that gave Edward the vision to make Edward’s Steak House into the legend it became. The happy newlyweds worked their hearts out with Edward being the cook and Lynette was the waitress. Business was good! The restaurant was named, “The House of Edwards” (See photo) and at the time Dad thought this was a “nice” name, not knowing what the future would bring.

Growth in Family and Business

It was time to expand to accommodate our growing customer base, speaking of expansion, I was born in February 1953 adding to our family’s expansion. All this time, before and after my birth, Mom was working in the restaurant. 

The fifties and sixties continued busy and in 1959, Edward added a full bar, sawdust on the floor, tiffany lamps and thus started the “Victorian motif” of Edwards and remained until its closing. It seemed like a coincidence, but along with the restaurant expansion came another family expansion as well. My sister, Denise was born in October of 1957 followed by my sister, Linda, who was born in June 1960. This was culminated by a search for another location. Thus, our second location opened in 1973 in El Monte, where we remained open until its closing in 2011. The location had seating for 175 plus banquet accommodations.

The End of an Era in the “Westlake District” in the City of Los Angeles

As we moved through the seventies and eighties, the neighborhood surrounding the Los Angeles location began to deteriorate. What was a safe neighborhood with Victorian houses and the grandeur of Westlake Park (now MacArthur Park) with its motor boats, was becoming a haven for crime and danger. We were very concerned about the safety of our customers and employees. To this day, some 30 years later, the Westlake District of the City of Los Angeles is a dangerous, crime ridden neighborhood. The closing of the original Edward’s Steak House was a very humbling experience for our family. My Mom and Dad gave their blood, sweat and tears (and money) to have the opportunity of the “American Dream”. Our employees had been with us for 10 – 20 – 30+ years. We had no idea that Edward’s Steak House was such a special part of everyone’s lives. On our closing night, every news outlet was there to say goodbye. That restaurant was our home. As my Dad said, “everyone come to your funeral”.

The El Monte Location

The El Monte location was thriving and busy. We were fortunately able to relocate employees from our Los Angeles location. However, in the late nineties, the demographics were changing. Large companies that were once in El Monte or west San Gabriel Valley began relocating to the east San Gabriel Valley and the Flair Business Park, where the restaurant was located. 

The Closing of Edward’s Steak House, El Monte

As the economy approached a “recession” in the latter years of the 2000’s so did a corresponding decline in business. The family once again made the heartfelt decision to close Edward’s Steak House in El Monte after 37 years in business. I remember that day in July of 2010, we announced to the employees at 4:00 pm that we would cease operation of Edward’s at the end of July. Channel 4 news featured us their 11:00 pm news telecast that night. During those days leading up to our last day, our business DOUBLED! Closing night was like the Los Angeles closure, with news crews on hand and tears in everyone’s eyes.

Thank you for the Memories

In closing, one of the unique events we had upon the closure of Edward’s was an auction of antiques, family heirlooms, tiffany lamps, Grandma’s Attic’s memorabilia, and other historical items. Wow, we were overwhelmed with the response. It was evident that Edward’s was an important part of the generations of families who dined with us for decades. A popular item purchased was the tiffany lamps. The sentimental value of having the lamp in one’s home where a proposal for marriage was made by the couple sitting under the purchased lamp is priceless. We went on to serve their children and grandchildren over the coming decades. 

Dad passed away in 2004 at the age of 88 and Mom is alive and well. She will be 100 years of age in July 2024. On behalf of our family, words cannot express our gratitude for allowing us and our loyal employees to serve you for 64 years. We hope you enjoy our Recipe Cookbook that continues our tradition.