After 40 years, it’s still a family affair at Harvey’s Fourth Street Grill, and we’re not talking just about the eponymous Harveys who started the restaurant. Business manager Rosie Meyer, herself a member of the Harvey family, estimates that most of the people on the payroll at the beloved St. Pete institution have been working there for at least five years, not counting the young hostesses and busboys who come and go according to their school schedules. Some of the kitchen and floor staff have been there far longer. They say it’s the feeling of community, both among the staff and the customers, that keeps them.
Manager Clayton Jones has worked at Harvey’s for 17 years; his wife, Rachel Elbert, has been a server for 19 years. “What keeps me here is the business that we do, the clientele,” Clayton Jones says. “And we’ve got a great staff because we have great owners who take care of us. We have quality of life.”
Harvey’s Fourth Street Grill is the quintessential St. Pete restaurant; its grouper sandwich is as fresh as they come. (The secret is in buying the fish whole and cutting it in house, sometimes twice a day.) The story of the restaurant’s founding is the quintessential St. Pete story. Dan Harvey Sr., or Daddy Dan (as everyone at Harvey’s still calls him) was born in St. Petersburg while his parents were wintering in the Sunshine City in 1927. After vacationing here for years, Daddy Dan moved to town permanently in the 1960s. His son, Dan Harvey Jr., started the restaurant in 1984, when St. Petersburg needed a kick start of its food scene. He drew upon years of restaurant experience in cities like Chicago and at chains like TGI Fridays to open a local joint that would meet his goal of feeling like “it had been here 30 years” when the very first customer walked in.
Many of those very first customers are still patrons. Elizabeth Funk has been coming to Harvey’s since the restaurant first opened when she was 19 years old. She still visits at least four days a week. Sometimes it’s for lunch with her brother Sam Moore, sometimes for happy hour with the many friends who refer to Harvey’s as “HQ – headquarters.”
Funk describes why she still loves the place. “Here’s the thing,” she says. “Harvey’s is like Cheers in Boston. Everybody knows your name. You walk in, and all the bartenders and servers say hi, and then all your friends are here, too. Yesterday I had a big closing for work, so I came here to celebrate, and then all my friends came up to meet me. Eventually I look down the bar, and every stool is filled with someone I know!”
There’s an authenticity to Harvey’s that corporate chains just can’t match. Perhaps it’s the hyperlocal flair of walking on the floorboards salvaged (with permission) from the old Vinoy Hotel ballroom during the years when the majestic waterfront hotel was boarded up. Or sitting under the painted ceiling on the enclosed back porch, pieced together plank by plank after being rescued from the Soreno Hotel prior to its demolition in 1992. “I remember when I was like 13 or 14 years old, we were piecing together this ceiling in a warehouse,” Meyer recalls. “And it was so hot! They were just planks of wood that were being thrown out, so my uncle Dan bought it all, and we had to piece it together.” She confesses she didn’t last long at the task.
The sweat equity that she and the rest of the family put in speaks to the family’s commitment to Harvey’s and to the city. “We’ve never been a restaurant group,” Meyer says. “There’s never been money from other people coming in and out.” It has always been a family-run place.
Daddy Dan comes into the restaurant nearly every day, and founder Dan Jr. is there on a regular basis. Meyer joined the team full time in 2020, drawn in by the feeling of caring and closeness. When asked why everyone loves Harvey’s so much, she responds: “I think it’s the community. There’s just a great group of people that come here. We’re your neighborhood joint. We’re in between several neighborhoods, we’re on your way to downtown and your way from downtown.
Manager Clayon Jones concurs. “The difference is the caring,” he says. “They make you feel like you’re family. Daddy Dan, he’s just a big, warm-hearted man that takes care of his people.” He laughs, citing other reasons for Harvey’s longevity. “We’re known for a nice stiff drink, yes, and our food is well portioned. We offer a great product at a good price, with great service.” But that’s not what he thinks keeps people coming back. He, too, compared Harvey’s to the popular 1980s sitcom. “It’s like Cheers. Everyone knows your name. You see people shake hands all the way down the restaurant, every single day. It’s amazing. That’s what our local people keep us about. These people have been coming here to this bar and this restaurant for 35, 40 years.”
After polishing off a Blue Max burger and potato salad on a recent visit, it’s easy to see why Harvey’s remains a beloved local destination 40 years after its opening. The feeling of love and family starts with the ownership, spreads to the customers, and makes its way into every meal that is served at this beloved St. Pete institution.
I was born in St. Petersburg in 1943 and lived there until I joined the military. I went to Shorecrest Outdoor School, Mirror Lake JH and Lealman JH, then Northeast High School and from there to the University of Florida. I have a lot of old memories of St. Pete, but there aren’t many people to share them with.
Bill – email us at [email protected]. We’d love to hear more about your experience growing up in St. Pete!