"Joe Betz is a legend in the hospitality industry, credited with transforming the 76-year-old Van Ness Avenue restaurant into an institution where locals and visitors alike clamor for reservations - and a taste of Betz's old-world charm. The cavernous restaurant, renowned for its cold martinis and 21-day aged prime rib carved tableside, was founded by Lou Balaski in 1949. Betz purchased it from him in 1985 and turned it into one of the city's most storied dining destinations."
""Prime rib is a comfort food. When the economy goes down, you don't have the money to go for 'experience food,'" he told SFGATE in 2022, speaking of the restaurant's longevity. "You want to go somewhere where you know you'll get your money's worth - and that's what we are - and we stay that way.""
"Betz began working in restaurants in Munich when he was 14. Once stateside, he waited tables at Hoffman's Grill, a diner and Market Street mainstay since 1913. He bought Hoffman's when he was just 28 years old, becoming at the time the city's youngest restaurateur. He would go on to run other successful businesses, including a popular discotheque in the Transamerica Pyramid with two dance floors, a game room and late-night suppers, before purchasing and completely remodeling House of Prime Rib in 1985."
Joe Betz, 86, has died; his son Michael Betz confirmed the death. Betz transformed House of Prime Rib on Van Ness Avenue into a San Francisco institution known for cold martinis, gold-accented dining, and tableside-carved 21-day aged prime rib. The restaurant was founded in 1949 and purchased and remodeled by Betz in 1985. Betz began working in restaurants in Munich at 14, later bought Hoffman's Grill at 28, and operated other hospitality ventures. The restaurant earned a 2022 James Beard Foundation nomination for Outstanding Hospitality, and Betz emphasized prime rib as comfort food valued during downturns.
Read at SFGATE
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