Tribute to Bury St Edmunds The Beefeater restaurant owner and 'character' Charlie Charalambous

Tribute has been paid to a well-known Bury St Edmunds restaurateur, who has died aged 77.

Charlie Charalambous, who ran The Beefeater, on Angel Hill, for 30 years before selling the business in 2016, died on July 30, having suffered deteriorating health in recent years.

But his ties to Bury go back further, as he was a chef at the Wimpy bar back when it was in Abbeygate Street – which is where he met his wife Jean – and worked at a Greek restaurant, also in Abbeygate Street.

Charlie then worked in Colchester for 13 years ahead of his return to the Bury restaurant scene in the mid-1980s, when he bought The Beefeater.

Charlie also leaves sons Peter and Michael.

Peter’s memories of his father’s time at The Beefeater include eating steak every night.

“I must have been 10 or 11 when he bought it and I started working there when I was 13,” said Peter.

“It was a different era as people would drink late in the restaurant and it would be open until the early hours. It was very sociable and a lot of the customers knew each other well and ran businesses in the town.

“Over time things changed and there was more competition.

“Everybody who always used to come to The Beefeater grew up and then grew old. Times were harder and the stress probably affected his health.”

Charlie, of Cannon Street, was known for becoming a showman when the restaurant held Greek nights.

“He would be dancing, he would put the table in his teeth and dance with it and everybody would be buying him drinks – he enjoyed Metaxa brandy,” said Peter, adding that occasionally his father would sleep in the restaurant’s kitchen after a particularly late opening.

Peter said his father was also known for working hard and enjoying a gamble.

“Dad was definitely a character. The Beefeater was a family-run business as we all worked there. He was well-known for his steaks and Greek food – everyone loved his kleftiko,” said Peter.

“He worked hard to give us a better life. The restaurant was his life for 30 years. He never took a day off – it made him happy.”

Charlie also owned Charlie’s Kebab House, in St Andrew’s Street South, for more than 20 years.

The funeral is at West Suffolk Crematorium on September 5 at noon. Family flowers only but donations if desired to East Anglia's Children's Hospices.