Hy's Steakhouse celebrates 60 years

Hy Aisenstatopened the first Hy's Steakhousein Calgary in 1955 and today the restaurant chain is celebrating 60years in the business.

"We feel very fortunate to have such longevity," said Hy's son Neil Aisenstat, who is the currentpresident and CEO of the steakhouse.

"We operate in afine-dining steakhouse genre,constantly changing and retooling as genre is progressing. The key is just good quality beef and great quality dishes," he said.

The restaurant considers itself very much a Vancouver establishment sincethe family moved here in 1960.

The steakhousehas servedmanycelebrities through the years, includingMuhammad Ali.

"He would come in and have a huge bowl of caesar salad and two t-bone steaks," said Aisenstat, "He ate a lot."

He remembers meeting Ali when he was younger. Aliwould frequent the restaurant every afternoonafter training while he was in town for a fight.

The chains' Hornby Street location recently underwent renovations.

"Putting in a nice bar, a library bar with a la carte and private rooms," said Aisenstat.

He says the family is grateful that they've been able tostickaround for so many years, especially in such a competitive business.

In the video above, Aisenstat tellsCBC hostGloria Macarenkoabout some of his fondest memories when he was just a child and hisfather ran the restaurant.

To hear the full interview listen to the audio labelled Hy's Steakhouse turns 60with the CBC's Rick Cluff on The Early Edition.