Tucker's Place is a St. Louis landmark

Every community has those establishments that people tend to think of as their home away from home. It’s the spot they return to again and again because it offers great food, they form a relationship with the staff and because the atmosphere just feels right: cozy, warm and inviting. Tucker’s Place is one of those spots, and no matter if you walk into its original Soulard location, or its West County or South County restaurants, the experience is the same.

The inside is filled with warm, wood tones, exposed brick and memorabilia that pays homage to Mardi Gras, which is a nod not only to the restaurant’s Soulard location and the city’s legendary Mardi Gras celebration, but also the birth of the restaurant. Tucker’s Place opened for business during the Soulard Mardi Gras celebration back in 1982.

“We feel like we’re part of the history and culture of St. Louis in a unique way that makes us really attached to the community,” said Neil Struharik, general manager of Tucker’s Place West County.

When it started over 40 years ago, business partners Tom Struharik, who is Neil’s father, and Alan Shelby, had previously been musicians pursuing full-time careers in the industry. The partners decided to pivot from playing music and launched the eatery without having any restaurant experience, other than what they observed over the years they spent playing in restaurants and bars across the country. As they cast the vision for what their restaurant would become, they wanted to create a place where people could find some of their favorite dishes and enjoy them in a welcoming environment.

The establishment planned to open as a pizza place, but burgers and steaks were added when the partners were able to acquire some chargrills by happenstance due to a fire at a nearby eatery. And it was with that fateful purchase that Tucker’s grew into being known as the place for steaks in St. Louis. Throughout the years, the eatery has maintained a private selection of steak cuts that come from Omaha, an area the ownership selected because it’s known to have the highest concentration of Angus and Hereford cattle, which are breeds that tend to produce well-marbled cuts.

Since steaks are at the heart of the menu at Tucker’s, the kitchen staff is highly skilled at preparing the cuts to enhance the flavorful and tender beef. The eatery offers 8-ounce filets, rib-eye, sirloin, porterhouse and strip steaks, all of which are grilled to perfection and served with a salad and baked potato.

“At the end of the day there’s lots of kinds of restaurants that rise and fall, and there’s a lot of food trends, but steaks and burgers are eternal, those are the kinds of foods that have staying power,” Struharik said.

That staying power is also what helped fuel Tucker’s Place to expand from its original location to a second restaurant in West County in 1992, with the South County storefront opening four years after that in 1996. Besides its menu selections, Struharik attributes the restaurant’s commitment to simplicity and consistency as being a factor to its success.

Since the brand established its core offerings, it hasn’t deviated from its original concept throughout the years. The pizzas are still made with local ingredients, like sausage sourced from the Hill, and a house-made pizza sauce. It’s that commitment to its quality and core menu that has gained the eatery recognition in St. Louis area publications for decades, including being selected 10 times as Sauce Magazine Readers’ Choice for favorite steakhouse.

2117 S. 12th St., 314.772.5977, tuckersplace.com