A professional portrait of Chef Chad Johnson smiling directly at the camera. The individual has short salt-and-pepper hair and a beard, and is wearing a crisp white chef's coat with the name "Johnson" embroidered on the left chest, layered under a dark grey denim apron with a metal ring on the neck strap. The background features a rustic, exposed red brick wall on the left that fades into deep, dark shadows on the right.Chef Chad Johnson Credit: BernsSteakHouse / Facebook

South Tampa restaurant goers were met with sad news today as Bern’s Steak House told followers that its executive chef, Chad Johnson, died this week.

The Tampa Bay Business Journal said the unexpected death happened Wednesday. Property and voter registration records indicate Johnson was 47 years old. He is survived by his wife Ashley and two daughters.

In a statement, David Laxer, Owner and President of Bern’s, wrote that the restaurant was closed last Thursday night as the team and Johnson’s family grieved.

“Today, we reopen knowing this is what Chad would have wanted: for us to come together, welcome our guests, and continue the gracious hospitality he cared so deeply about,” Laxer added in a statement shared today. “There is no way to replace the impact Chad had on our team.”

A cause of death has not been shared, and Laxer asked for privacy for Johnson’s family and Bern’s team.

Johnson, a perennial Best of the Bay winner, was a literal giant of the local food scene who quickly made a name for himself at SideBern’s.

Johnson checks off the list of modern chef concerns — seeking out local ingredients, utilizing unusual foods, stretching his cuisine past genre and cultural boundaries, seasonal menus,” Creative Loafing Tampa Bay noted in 2011. “ And even though he’s a very serious dude, Johnson still seems to enjoy playing with his food. The result is often fabulous, in a setting that is easily one of the most elegant and modern in Tampa.”

Twice named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: South (2012, 2014), Johnson cooked at the Beard House three times.

Johnson previously helmed the kitchen at Elevage, across the street from Bern’s before leaving in 2019. His job at Bern’s also put Johnson in the kitchen at Haven, another South Tampa favorite that closed this year as Johnson’s team prepared a new concept, Peddler + Potter.

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This article appears in July 09 – 15, 2026.

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