Read on Twitter
Perhaps because it now has locations in places like Boise and Jakarta, most folks don’t recognize how important Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse is to the food culture of New Orleans. $RUTH 1/x
Chris Matulich founded Chris Steak House at 11 Broad Street in New Orleans in 1927. Over the next 4 decades Matulich sold the restaurant 6 times. All 6 times the new owners failed, allowing him to buy it back for a song. 2/x
In 1965 Ruth Fertel became the 7th sucker, buying the restaurant for $18,000, without realizing that she’d failed to budget for items like “food.” So Fertel set about learning every aspect of the business. For years she would butcher 30 lb. loins by hand. 3/x
At a time (and in a place) where single mothers were scorned by society, Fertel (a single mother herself) went out of her way to staff Chris Steak House with single mothers.
For many years Chris was the only upscale restaurant in N.O. with an all-female wait staff. 4/x
For many years Chris was the only upscale restaurant in N.O. with an all-female wait staff. 4/x
In 1965 after Hurricane Betsy struck New Orleans, rather than allowing the restaurant’s food to spoil, Fertel directed staff to cook everything and provide free meals to victims and responders alike. 5/x
In 1976 Chris Steak House was destroyed in a fire. Within a week Fertel had the restaurant up and running again in a nearby location. 6/x
Because the agreement with Matulich prevented that name from being used at any location except for 11 Broad, Fertel retained continuity by calling it “Ruth’s Chris Steak House.” 7/x
Fertel admitted later that she never did like the name. 8/x
Fertel also created the only fine dining establishment in New Orleans where blacks felt comfortable. She once threw a wealthy man out of the restaurant who demanded that she remove a black patron. “If that boy stays, I’ll never eat here again.” “There’s the door.” 9/x
In 1977 Ruth’s Chris began franchising and in the process began to lose its New Orleans identity. Fertel sold to a Chicago-based private capital firm with big ideas. 10/x
In 2005 Ruth’s Hospitality Group went public. A week after Hurricane Katrina, the company decamped New Orleans and established its HQ in Winter Park, Florida. Their New Orleans restaurant is now located inside a casino. /finis
