Michael's
Michael's Sirloin Room was a steakhouse owned by Michael Matsos and Connie Kanakis. It originally opened in 1953 in the Holiday Inn on Bessemer Super Highway, but opened a second, flagship location in 1958 at 431 20th Street South, where it became one of the anchors of The Strip, a small entertainment district opposite the Parliament House hotel.
The menu featured charcoal-seared steer butt steaks along with shish kabobs and other staples. The restaurant was the first in Birmingham to be awarded three stars from the Mobil Travel Guide.
Michael's hosted numerous luminaries in its heyday including Bob Hope, Arnold Palmer and Yogi Berra. The walls were decorated with sports memorabilia and photographs. It was a favorite of Bear Bryant who would sometimes bring the whole football team to the restaurant.
Two other Holiday Inn locations were opened in Huntsville and St Petersburg, Florida. A fifth location, called Michael's-in-the-Mall opened in October 1960 at Eastwood Mall. A special "Hawaiian Kabob" was created in honor of the new location. That restaurant was converted to the Holland House before July 1961. Another restaurant, Michael's Ship Ahoy was located at 401 Valley Avenue.
Matsos and Kanakis sold the restaurant in 1984 and it finally closed in 1992.
In 2004 Michael's was revived in a joint-venture between Golden Rule Bar-B-Q (which Matsos purchased in 1970), and investor Rusty Creel. The new first restaurant to bear the Michael's name was the $2.5 million, 6,400 square-foot Michael's Golden Rule Bar-B-Q at The Village at Lee Branch near Greystone on U.S. Highway 280. In August 2006 a new Michael's Steaks and Seafood opened at the former R. J. Gator's location at the Riverchase Galleria. On December 31, 2006, the 280 location was closed so the company could concentrate on the Galleria location. In September 2009 Matsos sold 15 of his 19 Golden Rule locations to Jeff Miller.
In 2009 Michael's opened a restaurant at the Aloft Birmingham SoHo Square hotel in Homewood. That location features live jazz on weekend evenings and during a Sunday brunch buffet. The Michael's & More catering company operates from that location and serves Aloft's banquet rooms. Future Michael's locations are in development for Huntsville, Nashville and Atlanta. The company is also in talks with Starwood Hotels, Carlson Hotels and a Destin, Florida development.
In August 2012 the Galleria location closed to make way for a new La Paz location.
References
- Wilkinson, Kaija (July 14, 2006) "Michael's Steaks and Seafood comes to Galleria." Birmingham Business Journal
- Williams, Roy L. (December 3, 2004) "Michael's bringing back steaks, adding barbecue." The Birmingham News
- Angell, Glory Clark (1983) Birmingham Inside Out. Birmingham: self published.
- Williams, Roy L. (January 23, 2007) "Business brief." The Birmingham News
- Williams, Roy L. (November 17, 2009) "Michael's checks into Homewood's new Aloft." The Birmingham News
- Williams, Roy L. (September 1, 2012) "Michael's steakhouse in Hoover closes to make way for Mexican restaurant." The Birmingham News
External link
- Michael's website