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Ruth's Chris Steak House history
Ruth's Chris Steak House company history timeline
The story of Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. began in 1965 when single-mother Ruth Fertel purchased Chris Steak House to provide a better life for her family.
In 1975 Fertel's first restaurant burned down.
The first franchise opened in Baton Rouge in 1976, and the chain began to grow.
FIRST FRANCHISE OPENED IN 1977
In 1977, at the urging of a loyal customer, Ruth granted her first franchise just outside Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Our Sizzling Steak Concepts franchise began shortly thereafter in the mid 1980’s in Georgia.
She hired Ralph J. Giardina, who was originally her banker, as president of the holding company she created for the chain, and in 1984 she hired Dan Earles as vice-president of operations.
Opening their first Ruth’s Chris restaurant in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta in 1986, Sizzling Steak Concepts is the largest Ruth’s Chris franchisee worldwide, with 12 restaurants across Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee and plans for continued expansion throughout the Southeast.
By 1987, sales for the 17-unit Ruth's Chris chain stood at nearly $22 million.
In 1987 Fertel made public her plans to add about a dozen restaurants to the chain over the next three years.
By 1990, the Ruth's Chris chain had 28 locations.
Fertel was 65 in 1992, and claimed she was going into semi-retirement.
By 1994 the chain had 43 units and sales had topped $100 million.
Ruth's Chris touched off an imbroglio with the owner of a Dallas steak house in 1994 by implying in an article in a company publication that a listing of "America's Top 10 Steakhouses" used in one such airline in-flight magazine ad was bogus.
Franchisees opened Ruth's Chris restaurants in Portland, Oregon; in Indianapolis, Indiana; and in Mexico City in 1996, and the company opened its own restaurants in Tampa, Florida; Irvine, California; and Kansas City, Missouri.
But Fertel turned 70 in 1997, and she was not willing to run the company again for long.
Satisfy your sweet tooth with us at Ruth's Chris! Reserve your seat by clicking on the link in our bio. #Cheesecake… https://t.co/UWWhlRNUOs 03:03:05 PM July 30, 2020
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Ruth's Chris Steak House competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Del Frisco's Restaurant Group | 1981 | $361.4M | 6,595 | - |
| Firehouse Subs | 1994 | $695.0M | 2,000 | 1,695 |
| Lettuce Entertain You | 1971 | $300.0M | 8,000 | 215 |
| Fiesta Restaurant Group | 2011 | $387.4M | 4,480 | 7 |
| DineEquity | 1958 | $812.3M | 730 | - |
| Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants | 1981 | $1.0B | 8,135 | 788 |
| Eureka! Restaurant Group | 2009 | $130.0M | 3,000 | 298 |
| Cameron Mitchell Restaurants - Corporate Office | 1993 | $109.5M | 3,000 | 210 |
| Morton's The Steakhouse | 1978 | $66.0M | 4,154 | - |
| Texas Roadhouse | 1993 | $5.4B | 64,900 | 3,733 |
Ruth's Chris Steak House history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Ruth's Chris Steak House, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Ruth's Chris Steak House. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Ruth's Chris Steak House. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Ruth's Chris Steak House. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Ruth's Chris Steak House and its employees or that of Zippia.
Ruth's Chris Steak House may also be known as or be related to Ruth's Chris Steak House, Ruths Chris Steak House /3 Franchises and Ruths Chris Steak House, Inc.