Walter's Steakhouse Delaware dining roots go back 77 years

The Constantinou family has had roots in Delaware's restaurant industry for 77 years. 

The story begins with Sophie's Sub Shop, a business in Wilmington's Forty Acres neighborhood that John and Sophie Constantinou first opened in 1941 when they had just $85 in their pocket. 

It operated at Lincoln Street and Shallcross Avenue where Scalessa's Old School Italian Kitchen now stands. 

The business closed in 1951 when the couple and their son George Constantinou decided to take over the old B&O Restaurant, a luncheonette near the former rail station in Trolley Square across from the Logan House.

But George Constantinou had aspirations for a bigger scale restaurant. He decided to act on them when he had to raise the price of doughnuts at the luncheonette and someone complained.

"My dad said, 'That's it. I'm going to check out a new concept,'" remembered John Constantinou.

That led to the development of a landmark Wilmington steakhouse after Constantinou visited similar businesses in New York and Texas. 

Constantinou's House of Beef at 1616 Delaware Ave. was born in 1959 with about 18 tables. Giant eagles from the old Wanamaker's store looked down on customers, and the collection of antiques throughout the eatery included chandeliers from the former Warwick Hotel.

"I always loved steaks, the romance of steaks, the [charcoal] pits in the dining room," Constantinou once told The News Journal. "I figured I'm going to have the best beef in town or I'm going to give up." 

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George lived up to his word. Constantinou's became a popular spot, won raves from critics and gained legions of loyal customers. It was beloved as much for the personal service from its owner as for the quality of the renowned, aged prime beef he served.

The restaurant grew in size and George's Next Door, a nightclub opened in 1975, became an immediate success. In 1986, George said the long hours and rigors of the restaurant industry began to affect his health and he sold the business. It eventually closed in 1997.

The site is now Catherine Rooney's, though there is still a bit of the Constantinou's family legacy in the building. A stone fireplace that George built stands in the eatery. 

This month, John Walter Constantinou, George's son, is celebrating his own chapter of Delaware restaurant history with the 25th anniversary celebration of his Walter's Steakhouse in Wilmington's Little Italy. 

Walter's opened in 1993 in the old Road House at 802 N. Union St. It is smaller in size than Constantinou's and has a different menu, but the eatery has always offered the family's signature high-quality beef. 

John says customers often share dining memories with him about his family's businesses, with some even mentioning Sophie's Sub Shop.

Mostly, though, he says, they recall visits to Constantinou's House of Beef and his father's famed high-energy personality.

He says most tell the same story: George Constantinou wouldn't cook or serve them well-done beef; he said steaks had to be medium-rare.  

"It's really fun how people share their memories. It's a joy; it really is," John says about the restaurant business. "It's gone by in the blink of an eye."

Throughout September at Walter's, Constantinou is featuring a "Wall of Wine" to celebrate the restaurant's silver anniversary. Bottles of wine have been wrapped in silver bags and some contain gifts. 

Customers who pay $25 receive a bottle of wine that Constantinou has collected over the years. He says some bottles are familiar and some are "real interesting." You won't know what you get until you unwrap the bottle.

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Well-known wine salesman Tom Ditzler, who recently retired, helped Constantinou make his selections over the years.

"Tom turned me on to some really great wines," he says.

Other specials this month include $10 prime rib sandwiches at the bar on Sept. 17 from 5 to 11 p.m.; a fundraiser for Parkinson's research on Sept. 18; a Twin Lakes Brewery tap takeover from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 19 and half-price burgers at the bar on Sept. 20.

But the restaurant's big night will be its Silver Anniversary Wine Dinner from 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 21. Reservations are required for the $85, all-inclusive dinner that includes a reception, four courses, wines from Silver Oak and Sterling Vineyards and entertainment by Frank Sinatra interpreter Sean Reilly.

Go to walters-steakhouse.com for more information.

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Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico