For 26 years, Al Biernat’s has been the backdrop for countless birthdays and anniversaries. It’s wined and dined the who’s who of nearly every field.
But the real legend isn’t the Oak Lawn institution, it’s the man who lent it his name.
Wednesday, at the age of 69, Al Biernat died following a seven-month battle with Bulbar Onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS. It’s the most aggressive form of the condition commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
It robbed him of his ability to talk with guests, but loved ones say it didn’t rob him of his spirit which remains at the heart of his namesake steakhouses.
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“Obviously, this is a testament to who he was. There’s not a lot of people who just truly have a gift and a love to just love people the way that he did,” said Biernat’s nephew Brad Fuller.
Fuller now serves as Al Biernat’s Director of Operations. He’s been with Biernat from the very start.
He said Biernat first got the restaurant bug in Colorado before coming to Texas to help open the Palm’s Dallas outpost.
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“I worked with him at the Palm when I was 16, and I just would look at him in amazement just how many people he knew. It didn’t matter if they were a celebrity, didn’t matter if they were Troy Aikman or Roger Staubach walking in, or if it was just someone coming in to celebrate a birthday or anniversary. He made everybody feel special,” he said.
It’s a characteristic Biernat carried with him when he opened the doors of his own restaurant in Oak Lawn in 1998.
Biernat was often at the door to greet his guests. And though the menu evolved, many of his original employees are still there today.
“He had a dream to have his own restaurant but truly this is his dining room, his living room so to speak, or you’re going into his house, our house, and we’re there to take care of people when they’re there,” said Fuller
Eventually, the business expanded with a second location in North Dallas in 2017, but the mission never changed. And as they continue on without Biernat, Fuller says it won’t.
“We’re going to continue taking care of people, serving people, loving people,” he said.
Biernat leaves behind a wife, three children and several grandchildren.
