The original Chris' Steak House (1927–1965) Chris' Steak House was founded on February 27, 1927, by
New Orleans entrepreneur Chris Matulich. It was located at 1100 North Broad Street near the
Fair Grounds Race Course, seated 60 people, and had no parking lot. During Matulich's 38-year management, the business was sold six times. Each time it was sold the business failed and Matulich bought the restaurant back cheaply from the purchasers. In 2022, the building became the focus of a historic preservation dispute, when its new owner demolished the iconic wraparound terracotta-tile awning without the proper permits.
Ownership by Ruth Fertel, 1965–1999 Acquisition, 1965 Ruth Fertel was a divorced single mother who needed money to send her teenage sons to college. Ignoring the advice of her banker, lawyer, and friends, Ruth purchased the restaurant in 1965. She used her brother's restaurant, Sig's Antique Restaurant in Port Sulphur, Louisiana, along with family recipes to lay the foundation for her restaurant. She initially planned to raise just $18,000 () to cover the purchase price, until it was pointed out to her that she would need an additional $4,000 (equivalent to $) to cover the cost of renovations and food. On her first day, May 24, 1965, she sold 35 steaks at $5 each (equivalent to $). Fertel personally took a hand in every part of the business. For many years, Chris Steak House was the only upscale restaurant in New Orleans with an all-female wait staff. She admitted later to
Fortune Magazine that "I've always hated the name, but we've always managed to work around it."
Expansion and franchising, 1976–1999 The first franchised restaurant was opened in 1977 by a loyal customer, Thomas J. "T. J." Moran (c. 1931–2015), in
Baton Rouge, who went on to open several more franchised Ruth's Chris locations, TJ Ribs, and Ruffino's restaurants through his company T.J. Moran Associates. Fertel noted, "All our franchisees were people who had eaten at one time or another in one of our restaurants. We never looked for franchisees. They came to us". and achieving over $200 million in annual revenues.
Acquisition by Madison Dearborn 1999–2005 In 1999, Fertel, then 72, developed
lung cancer. She sold a 79.3 percent interest in the chain in August 1999 to investment company
Madison Dearborn Partners of
Chicago, remaining as a shareholder until her death in 2002.
Public company, 2005 onward On August 9, 2005, under President and CEO Craig Miller, Ruth's Chris Steak House became a
public company following a successful
IPO valuing the company at $235 million and an increase of 15 percent in first-day trading.
Relocation to Florida, 2005 In late August 2005
Hurricane Katrina devastated
Greater New Orleans (see:
Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans), and the chain moved its corporate headquarters to
Heathrow, Florida. Like most businesses in the city, two of the chain's locations in the New Orleans area were forced to close because of the storm. The
Metairie location has since reopened. Members of the Fertel family, particularly Ruth's son
Randy, were bitterly opposed to the move. Amid much criticism by local officials and media, and on the heels of the announcement by
Morton's that it would reopen its own New Orleans branch, the corporate offices announced that, due to extensive damage, the old flagship location on Broad Street would be permanently closed and donated to charity.
Tulane University was the recipient of the gift, remodeling and reopening the site in 2012 as the Ruth U. Fertel/Tulane Community Health Center. In May 2008, Ruth's Chris reopened in New Orleans and is centrally located downtown in
Harrah's Hotel. In 2011, the corporate headquarters was relocated to its current location in
Winter Park, Florida.
Expansion In February 2008, the company purchased the
Mitchell's Fish Restaurant and Columbus Fish Market brands from
Cameron Mitchell Restaurants for $92 million. As the
recession began to bite, the acquisition was not initially successful. The stock price fell from $22 in 2006 to under $5 and company debts rose to $185 million. CFO Tom Pennison resigned, and CEO
Craig Miller was ousted by the board to be replaced by Mike O'Donnell. O'Donnell restructured and rebranded the company, creating
Ruth's Hospitality Group (RHGI) as the parent entity in May 2008, allowing each of the individual restaurant brands to have their own identity within the group. The current President and COO is Kevin Toomy, formerly owner and president of the Goldcoast Seafood Grill in South Florida. In February 2013, RHGI reported that fourth quarter sales at Ruth's Chris restaurants were up by 7.0 percent on the previous year, representing the 11th consecutive quarterly increase in sales. Ruth's Chris continues to add new restaurants, most recently in
Harrah's casino in
Las Vegas in January 2013, after the previous Las Vegas location on Flamingo closed in 2009. a new restaurant in
Denver, Colorado, and four or five new franchised locations. In 2016, Ruth's Chris opened its restaurant in
Odenton, Maryland. In 2018, Ruth's Chris opened at the
Silver Legacy in
Reno, Nevada which replaced Sterling's Seafood Steakhouse that had been in business from 1995 to 2018. The newest Ruth's Chris location in
West Des Moines,
Iowa, opened in August 2023.
COVID-19 pandemic During the
coronavirus pandemic,
Ruth's Hospitality Group received $20 million in forgivable loans intended for small businesses from the
Paycheck Protection Program, leading to widespread backlash. The funds were distributed as part of the government's $2.2 trillion
CARES Act, which set limits of $10 million per entity. On April 17, 2020, two of the company's subsidiaries each received $10 million.
Acquisition by Darden Restaurants (2023 – ) On May 3, 2023,
Darden Restaurants announced it was acquiring Ruth's Hospitality Group Inc. for $21.50 per share in an all-cash transaction with an equity value of approximately $715 million. The acquisition was completed on June 14. == Lawsuits and discrimination ==