Howard Halpern, founder of Buckhead Beef and Halpern’s Steak and Seafood, died on November 20 at the age of 85.
Mourned by the industry and the companies he founded, Halpern will be remembered for his contributions to the Georgia food service community. “While we mourn his loss, we also take this moment to celebrate Howard’s significant role in our history and the enduring legacy he has left behind,” said a statement published by his former company, Halpern’s Steak and Seafood.
Born in Lakewood, N.J., Halpern moved to Atlanta in 1966 and soon started Halpern’s Gourmet Grocer, a first-of-its-kind bustling restaurant and butcher shop that set the course for mall food court concepts nationwide.
In 1983, Howard pivoted from retail to wholesale and started Buckhead Beef with only 5 butchers and a dream. He grew the company to one of the nation’s top privately owned meat purveyors, supplying major restaurants and events, including the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Halpern sold Buckhead Beef to Sysco in 1999, but he continued to contribute to Georgia’s food service industry for years to come.
He founded Halpern’s Steak and Seafood in 2005, which focused its business plan on white tablecloth fine dining and strong customer service. Halpern was one of the first adopters of new technology to increase quality and efficiency, setting the industry standards of today. Halpern’s was acquired by Gordon Food Services in 2015. Despite many attempts to retire, Halpern continued to work for Halpern’s until his final weeks.
Halpern was a prominent philanthropist in the Atlanta and Boca Raton communities, contributing to such causes as the Lynne and Howard Halpern Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Research at Emory Winship Cancer Center, The Lynne and Howard Halpern Endowment at the Temple on Peachtree Street, and JARC Florida, an organization that provides supported independent living for adults with developmental disabilities. Howard was a strong believer that it is not enough to simply donate money, and he championed the Atlanta Meals on Wheels program over 30 years ago, served as the President of JARC for two years, and most recently was awarded a multi-million-dollar grant to provide scholarships to residents at JARC.
Howard is survived by his wife Lynne, five children and six grandchildren.
His funeral was held on Monday, November 24 at The Temple, followed by a burial at Arlington Cemetery with Rabbi Peter Berg officiating.
