How a Single Mistake Turned Ruthโs Chris Steak House into a Billion-Dollar Empire ๐ฅฉ
If youโve ever walked into a Ruthโs Chris Steak House, you know exactly what to expect: dim lighting, white tablecloths, and the unmistakable sizzle of a USDA Prime steak arriving at your table, still hot on a 500-degree plate.
But behind this high-end chain is a story of risk, resilience, and a mistake that turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to the brand. Because Ruthโs Chris Steak House should have never existed.
The Accidental Steakhouse Owner
Our story begins in 1965 in New Orleans. Ruth Fertel was a divorced mother of two with a degree in chemistry and absolutely no experience in the restaurant industry. She worked as a lab technician and later as a horse trainer, but none of that paid enough to support her family.
Then, one day, she saw a classified ad for a small steakhouse for sale. It was called Chris Steak House, a 60-seat restaurant that had been operating since 1927. It wasnโt fancy, but it had a loyal local customer base. The price? $18,000.
Ruth did what any rational person would do: she mortgaged her house and bought it.
Hereโs the thingโshe didnโt actually know how to run a steakhouse. But she was a scientist, and to her, cooking was just chemistry. She experimented with different techniques and eventually landed on what would become Ruthโs Chrisโs signature style:
The highest-quality beef, only USDA Prime.
Cooked in an 1,800-degree broiler.
Served on a plate heated to 500 degrees so the steak stayed hot from the first bite to the last.
The locals loved it. Business boomed. Ruth wasnโt just survivingโshe was thriving.
The Best Worst Thing That Ever Happened
For 11 years, the restaurant ran under the name Chris Steak House. Then, in 1976, disaster struck. A fire destroyed the original location.
Ruth had to move fast. She reopened at a new location, but there was a problemโher contract with the previous owner stated that Chris Steak House could only be used at the original address.
She couldnโt use the name.
So, at the last minute, she slapped her own name in front of it, calling the new restaurant Ruthโs Chris Steak House.
Thatโs rightโone of the most successful steakhouse brands in America got its name because of a legal technicality.
Ruth actually hated the name. She later admitted that it was โthe most ridiculous name Iโve ever heard.โ But the new location did even better than the original, and the brand was officially born.
From One to One Hundred
The business kept growing, and by the 1980s, Ruth started franchising. Unlike most restaurant chains that expand by lowering their quality, Ruth insisted that every location maintain the same standardsโhigh-end beef, same broiling method, same 500-degree plates.
By 1999, Ruth was ready to retire, so she sold the company to Madison Dearborn Partners, a private equity firm, for around $230 million.
Today, there are over 150 Ruthโs Chris locations across the world, and the company is worth well over a billion dollars. It was even acquired by Darden Restaurants (the same company that owns Olive Garden and The Capital Grille) for $715 million in 2023.
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