Ruth's Chris finds new home at Renaissance at Colony Park

Mississippi Business Journal, The, Aug 4, 2008 by Northway, Wally

On July 14, Ruth's Chris Steak House held its grand opening for its new restaurant at Renaissance at Colony Park in Ridgeland. And while the new upscale restaurant represents the 124th Ruth's Chris, the Ridgeland eatery is an original - no other Ruth's Chris looks like the one on Highland Colony Parkway.

"Our goal is to create and deliver a dining experience unparalleled in this market," said general manager Andy Nesenson, who has more than a half-decade of experience with Ruth's Chris and the Ridgeland restaurant's owner, the Cooper Restaurant Group.

No cookie-cutter

One does not have to look past the restaurant's seating to find uniqueness in the Renaissance Ruth's Chris, which employs nearly 100 workers, The leather chairs were custom-made in Italy exclusively for the Ridgeland restaurant.

Benefiting from locating in a new facility, the Renaissance Ruth's Chris was designed and decorated to resonate with local tastes, said Nesenson. This includes four dining areas, each offering its own ambiance and experience. Rich colors and dark woods, including red oak paneling taken from a New Orleans bank built circa 1920, highlight the interior that also includes gas lights, chandeliers and mother of pearl tiles. Artwork from owner David Cooper's private collection adorns the walls.

A wine cellar situated in the center of the restaurant is a focal point of the layout. Built out of Appalachian fieldstone, the temperature-controlled room with a Tudor ceiling will house more than 1,200 bottles of wine.

Gathering place

The upscale steak house seats a total of 254 patrons. Seating at the 54 tables range from a handful of secluded booths with privacy curtains in the Club Room to private dining rooms that will accommodate between 20 and 120 customers.

Indeed, the Ridgeland Ruth's Chris, which also offers valet parking, was designed with the business community in mind. For meetings, the locale offers three different areas - the Madison Belle, Ridgeland Hall and Oak Hill. All can be reserved for meetings or private parties.

The seating varies from 20 to 50 for each dining area, and can be combined for up to 120 individuals. More can be accommodated if the adjoining courtyard is opened for guests. The rooms include complete audio-visual equipment, including video screens that drop from the ceilings, lapel microphones, wireless Internet and soundproof partitions.

Nesenson said ownership has been thrilled with the early response, particularly meetings. The Ridgeland Ruth's Chris already had 15 banquets booked, and the phone was still ringing at press time.

Digging in

The story of Ruth's Chris begins with founder Ruth Ann Udstad Fertel. Ironically, the day she was born in New Orleans, Chris Steak House, which would eventually become the first Ruth's Chris, opened in the Crescent City on Broad Street.

Fertel was an exceptionally bright child. She skipped several grades in grammar school. Fertel enrolled at LSU at the age of 15, earning a dual degree in chemistry and physics. Upon graduation, she taught at the collegiate level and opened a horse racing stable.

Seeing an ad in the paper, Fertel mortgaged her home to purchase Chris Steak House. (The original restaurant burned in 1976, and Fertel moved her establishment a few doors down on Broad Street and renamed it Ruth's Chris Steak House.)

In 1976. the first Ruth's Chris-franchised restaurant opened in Baton Rouge, La. More franchises followed, and by her death in 2002, she was dubbed "The First Lady of American Restaurants."

The story of Cooper Restaurant Group's entry into Ruth's Chris is just as intriguing. David Cooper is a stevedoring executive in Mobile, Ala., and was a longtime Ruth's Chris patron when he learned, to his dismay, in the late 1990s that the Mobile franchise was to close.

Cooper immediately contacted Fertel, and after some long-distance correspondence, made a trip to New Orleans. They struck a deal on the spot, and the Mobile Ruth's Chris received a last-minute reprieve.

At the same time, a franchise restaurant in Ridgeland, housed in Northpark Mall, also closed.

The Cooper Restaurant Group has operated the Ruth's Chris in Mobile for the past 11 years. The Renaissance locale is the group's second Ruth's Chris.