Grand Opening of Ruth's Chris Steak House in S. Barrington

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Ruth's Chris Steak House Opens in South Barrington



Heathrow, Fla., October 16, 2008 – Ruth’s Chris Steak House (Nasdaq: RUTH) today announced that it will open its doors in South Barrington, Illinois on November 10, 2008, bringing the total number of restaurants to 129 worldwide. This location joins the Chicago and Northbrook locations in Illinois, bringing the total to three Ruth’s Chris restaurants in the state.

The newest Ruth’s Chris restaurant is located in The Arboretum of South Barrington, an 86-acre open-air mall featuring top-name luxury retailers, located at Route 72/Higgins Road and Route 59. The restaurant seats more than 240 guests and also offers three private dining areas that accommodate up to 80 to100 guests.

“I am very excited to return to the area where I grew up,” said Jeff Carter, General Manager of Ruth’s Chris Steak House, South Barrington. “We’ve designed the South Barrington Ruth’s Chris with all types of occasions in mind, whether guests are planning a romantic dinner for two, a feast with family and friends or a business celebration.”

The bar and lounge area is a perfect venue for guests to relax and enjoy their favorite beverage and fine cuisine at their leisure. It seats more than 60 guests and features a bar menu with lighter fare and specialty drinks, as well as the full dinner menu.

Guests at Ruth’s Chris South Barrington can enjoy New Orleans-inspired appetizers, aged USDA Prime steaks, fresh seafood, signature side dishes and homemade desserts, all complemented by an award-winning wine list and served with genuine hospitality.

The restaurant, at 100 W. Higgins Road in South Barrington, opens nightly at 5 pm. Reservations are recommended but not required and can be made on-line at www.RuthsChris.com or by phoning the restaurant at 847-551-3730. Complimentary valet available nightly.

About Ruth’s Chris Steak House

Ruth’s Chris Steak House is a part of Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. Founded in New Orleans by Ruth Fertel in 1965, Ruth’s Chris specializes in USDA Prime grade steaks served in Ruth’s Chris signature fashion … “sizzling.”

To experience fine dining at its prime . . . just follow the sizzle to Ruth's Chris Steak House. For information, reservations, and gift cards, visit www.RuthsChris.com or call 1-800-544-0808.

About Ruth's Hospitality Group
Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: RUTH) is a leading restaurant company focused exclusively on the upscale dining segment. The Company owns the Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Mitchell’s Fish Market, Mitchell’s Steakhouse and Cameron’s Steakhouse concepts. With more than 145 company- and franchisee-owned locations worldwide, Ruth’s Hospitality Group was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Heathrow, Fla.

For further information about our restaurants, to make reservations, or to purchase gift cards, please visit: www.RuthsChris.com, www.MitchellsFishMarket.com, www.MitchellsSteakhouse.com and www.Camerons-Steakhouse.com. For more information about Ruth’s Hospitality Group, please visit www.rhgi.com.

well at least it went in the right forum.

Wow. Finally that mall is built. I am gonna have to take a trip there and see what else is in the place

Beyond the L.L. Bean shop, just the normal upscale mall stores. I don't think I saw one independent shop in whole mall.

The last time I drove thru (post LL Bean stop) I saw a sign for a coming-soon Japanese restaurant.

Of course, there's also the $20/person movie theater for those who prefer to pay more for a seat at the movies than a full month of Netflix.

I haven't been to Ruths Chris in ages, I miss their steaks a lot!

Octarine wrote:I haven't been to Ruths Chris in ages, I miss their steaks a lot!

Seriously? Mediocre steak in a mediocre environment?

Yeah I miss them, not enough to go spend 50 bucks on a 20 dollar steak but the sizzle was good. Steak is one of the things I can do just as well at home or so close that the cost is not justified.

Wow, a Ruth Chris only 40 miles from my house...

Coincidentally, I was in that mall Fri PM. They have a Gold Class Cinema (Village Roadshow out of Australia) that is a competitor of one of my clients. They had asked that I go check them out and report back. $230 for dinner and a movie for 2 so I know I won't be returning (thank god for expense accts). As far as the mall goes, just a typical strip mall with upscale pretensions. If you live there, fine. To go out of your way on purpose? No need.

I saw this item in a food industry newsletter I get:

Some franchise restaurants are searching for ways to cut costs, such as changing vendors and packaging, altering delivery schedules, cutting serving portions and prolonging the use of fryer oil. For example, Big Steaks Management LLC, a Ruth's Chris Steak House franchisee, is getting its meat from one vendor with one delivery a week, instead of using multiple vendors with various deliveries throughout the week, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Yum, week old meat!

Is their meat aged? Does it really matter then?

Mhays wrote:Is their meat aged? Does it really matter then?

Agreed.

Personally, I would be surprised that they use so many vendors and have so many deliveries per week. You store the primal cuts in your walk in and cut the steaks on a daily basis.

I don't know anything about how they run their business. I've never even been there. I assumed that if it were cheaper to get meat 1X per week they would have been doing it already. In my mind I was thinking they got their meat already cut.

FWIW, from a google search, Big Steaks Management is a franchisee in the Maryland/Virginia/North Carolina area, not Chicago.

teatpuller wrote:I don't know anything about how they run their business. I've never even been there. I assumed that if it were cheaper to get meat 1X per week they would have been doing it already. In my mind I was thinking they got their meat already cut.

It has been years since I have been in the kitchen. However, I am still in business and the general principles are the same.

When times are good, the focus is on growing the business. Marketing budgets go up. We attend a lot of trade shows. People attend a couple of training sessions a year. And the like.

When times are bad, we LOOK at all the expenses. What expenses are necessary remain in the budget, the rest are cut. Everybody cries when there are budgets are cut but it has to be done to keep the business going.

Personally, I like 1x weekly delivery on most products. Why? I have to have people around to accept the delivery. That hits my labor cost.

I want as few vendors as possible. Why? It gives me more leverage on my purchase and generally gets me better service. Also, I waste less time dealing with salesmen.

I can't speak for Ruth Chris as I have never been there. However, most high end steak houses cut their steaks from the primal cuts. It gives them better quality control over the product.