Dottye Bennett of Charlie’s Steakhouse Has Died

Dottye Bennett, a fixture at Charlie’s Steakhouse for over half a century, passed away at St. Anthony Nursing Home in Metairie on March 23, reports Todd Price. She was 90 years old. According to Price, her father, originally from Ustica, Italy, opened Charlie's in 1932.

Bennett lived only a block from the steakhouse until she moved to a retirement home. She had worked at the restaurant, usually as a server, from 1952 until her family closed the restaurant following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The restaurant was reopened by Matthew Dwyer in 2008, but Bennett only returned on special occasions with her son to eat.

According to Price, “the far from luxurious decor and the battered platters that carried splattering steaks were part of the charm at the working class steak house,” which never had a printed menu. “It wasn't necessary. The options were steak, salad and a handful of sides.”

Services will be held April 1 at Garden of Memories Funeral Home with visitation at 11 a.m. and a Mass at 1 p.m.