Leo Dalsheimer, a former manager of Maas Brothers Tea Room, opened his Baybreeze Restaurant around 1952 at 4625 Gandy Boulevard. By 1954 it was named Leo’s House of Steaks. Having a western theme, they claimed it was the “Most Famous Steakhouse on West Gandy.” Their menus were die-cut in the shape of a cow. Leo remodeled and enlarged the place in 1956, enhancing the Frontier Bar and adding a pink powder room. That year they also changed the schedule to remain open seven days a week for the winter season. Celebrities and dignitaries visited often. In 1959, Roy Rogers and his wife, Dale Evans, stopped by following their appearance at the Florida State Fair and the Gasparilla Parade.

Dalsheimer died of a heart attack in April 1960. Calling herself Mrs. Leo, his widow Mabel kept the restaurant open until 1962 when it became Jack Flynn’s House of Steaks. Flynn, an advertising executive, maintained the western theme, opening the Gun Stock Room. By 1970, it became the Melody Ranch, and by 1975 it was El Palacio Mexican restaurant. Quinella Steak House, a salute to nearby Jai Alai and Derby Lane, opened in 1980, and by the mid-1980s, the lot began many years as a car service and sales place, starting with Economy Transmissions. The property is now owned by Public Storage storage facility.

© Chkp Weiner, 2023