Under dim lights with Frank Sinatra crooning and bow-tied waiters serving sizzling steaks and seafood platters, dinner at RingSide Steakhouse feels like an experience from another time.
The long-standing Portland steakhouse has been a fixture on West Burnside for 70 years -- once serving fried chicken "as you like it," bacon and eggs and a 13-ounce fillet mignon for $3.40 in 1952 -- and is one of the city's oldest high-end restaurants.
Since 1944, RingSide Steakhouse, started by Allan and Marguerite Delepine, has been owned and run by four generations of the same family, gone through several remodels and expanded to three restaurants across the city.
1944
Allan and Marguerite Delepine, who owned a ranch in Brownsville, Ore., moved to Portland and the Mount Tabor neighborhood to give their children a large-city experience before they went to college.
The Delepines bought the restaurant that would become RingSide in 1944. The former Italian restaurant got a makeover from Allan, who installed the fireplace (that can still be found in the restaurant), booths and more, by hand.
The name of the restaurant originated from the boxing matches that took place at a stadium once in Northwest Portland in the '30s and '40s. A ringside seat, or front row, was the best in the house.
The boxing gloves that hang from the ceiling above the RingSide's sunken bar apparently belong to American boxers Carl 'Bobo' Olson and Denny Moyer, up-and-comers in the boxing world in the '50s and '60s.
1952-1954
The Delepines' daughter, Bev, met Wes Peterson in 1952, when he came into the restaurant for dinner. Six months later, they were married. Peterson, at the time, owned a tavern on the east side of town and sold cars at the Joe Fisher Ford dealership on Burnside. The couple bought the restaurant from the Delepines in 1954.
1954-1977
The Petersons ran the restaurant, serving steak, potatoes, salads and halibut (only on Fridays). At the time, the menu didn't offer dessert. Wes gave the interior another makeover, remodeling the kitchen (this kitchen would be used until 2010).
To get more quality time with their father, Craig and Scott Peterson, who were young boys, went to work with their father on weekends and were often put to work peeling potatoes in the kitchen.
"In high school, we worked full time," Craig said. "There was a natural progression to come into it at a young age."
In March 1977, the current executive sous chef, Albert Spoor, began working at the restaurant as a part-time bus boy and kitchen helper when he was 18.
"We've added prime rib, seafood, prawns, salmon, more salads over the years," Spoor said. "Each step was a little baby step, but climbed more towards where we are now."
1979
Wes Peterson gave Craig and Scott the opportunity to open RingSide Eastside, a sister restaurant on the opposite side of town. The two brothers, who were in their early 20s, were almost completely responsible for the entire restaurant.
Craig, who knew he was going to work in the restaurant, never went to college.
"I went to the school of dishwashing," Craig said. "But we're strong fighters, and I love doing what I do."
1982
Wes started showing signs of Alzheimer's in 1982, and Scott and Craig helped run both restaurants.
Richard Padilla, a server now entering his 32
year at the Burnside restaurant, began as a dishwasher before moving on to bussing, bartending and waiting tables.
"RingSide waiters don't retire," Padilla said. "They die."
1986
Wes kept ownership of the steakhouses until 1986, when he retired and sold the business to Craig and Scott. Jan, their younger sister, was brought in as a partner.
2010
The three Petersons remodeled the Burnside restaurant, taking it down to the studs and cement slabs and added 3,500 square feet of space, a 10,000-bottle wine cellar, in-house dry aging room, new kitchen and updated dining room.
During the remodel, they temporarily moved the Burnside restaurant into Fox Tower in downtown Portland. After the year-long remodel was complete, the Petersons kept the Fox Tower location and relaunched the restaurant as RingSide Fish House in 2011.
"As things moved forward, we did what we had to do in the kitchen to stay in the culinary scene," Craig said. "It was apparent we needed to reinvest."
"Today, we're printing our menus in-house with changes every day. Seafood, local ingredients, it wasn't really there in 1969 or 1975. The food scene has changed pretty dramatically and fortunately for us, we are an older company in town, but we've been embraced all the way through. It's the battle we fight everyday, and we move forward with our food as everyone else is trying to do."
2014 and beyond
Craig's daughter, Jennie, who is the general manager of the RingSide Fish House, will be the fourth generation of the family to work in the business.
"Our clientele is getting younger," Padilla said. "When I started, they were elderly and retired professionals. Now, their kids coming in...they wanted to cater to everybody."
"It's a place to come to in Portland if you want to see some history in our town that's still vibrant," Craig said.
Share your RingSide memories with us.
RingSide Steakhouse Uptown is located at 2165 W. Burnside, their Eastside location is at 14021 N.E. Glisan Street and the RingSide Fish House is at 838 S.W. Park Ave.
-- Samantha Bakall Follow @sambakall