Pat Murray, center, owner of Murray's restaurant, with his daughter Jill and son Tim, in 1996 in front of their restaurant. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Pat Murray, owner of the signature downtown Minneapolis steakhouse that bears the family name, has died.

Murray, who in 1960 joined his parents in running the restaurant at 26 S. 6th St., died Monday evening at his home in Lake Elmo. He was 72 and had been in declining health since he was diagnosed with bladder cancer in early 2011.

Murray's signature menu item has long been its "silver butter knife steak," made famous for years as a gift from sports commentator Sid Hartman to guests on WCCO Radio. A neon sign outside the restaurant glows with those four words, signifying the permanence of the 28-ounce strip sirloin carved tableside and served for two.

The Twins even added a version of the steak to their concessions at Target Field.

Pat's parents, Art and Marie, began the family business in 1933 as the Red Feather Cafe in north Minneapolis. From there, they moved the business in the late 1930s into the Russell Hotel at 4th Street and Hennepin Avenue. The Murrays then moved to their current location in 1946.

Pat signed on in 1960, and the family legacy has continued with children Tim, Jill and James now in charge.

The restaurant "was his life," Tim Murray said Tuesday of his father. "It was the biggest part of his life from the time he was a teenager."

With its white linen table cloths and napkins, and fine table settings, Murray's attracted the biggest names in politics, entertainment and athletics.

Garrison Keillor paid homage to Murray's in a 1997 essay in Time magazine, writing: "The menu harks back to the Age of Steak; a place where a fiftyish couple can enjoy a Manhattan and tuck into a chunk of cow and au gratin potato."

Along with many members of the Twin Cities' major sports teams, Murray's has drawn diners such as political giants Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, singer Billy Joel and actor Harrison Ford.

Tim Murray credits the restaurant's success to "a hands-on family commitment, just being engaged day to day seeing that things were running right."

"A lot of it has to do with consistency," he added, "that our diners are going to get the height of quality at our place."

Murray's death came on the day that the restaurant closed for nearly six weeks for extensive renovations.

"It's ironic," Tim Murray said of the timing, adding that Marie Murray, who remained involved in the business after Pat took charge, died about a month before the restaurant closed for a makeover in 1984.

Tim described his father as "a very caring, gentle man. Family always came first with him" and he also extended that sentiment to his staff, many of them who worked at Murray's for decades.

"He looked at people in the restaurant and staff as extended family," Tim Murray said.

Pat Murray's other company, Service Ideas of Woodbury, supplies thousands of hotels and restaurants around the world with service industry products.

He is survived by his wife, Joyce; sons Timothy Murray and James Murray; and daughters Christina Brandt, Jill Kummings and Megan Blohowiak.

Visitation is scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Washburn-McReavy Edina Chapel, 50th Street and Hwy. 100, Edina. Memorial services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at St. Olaf Church, 215 S. 8th St., Minneapolis, with visitation one hour before.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482