First Minneapolis, now Rochester. This is the face of Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Minneapolis, the chain’s first Minnesota outpost. The opening of a second Minnesota site, in Rochester, is set for in January.
Upscale steak house chain to hotel ground floor
ROCHESTER, Minn. – The Kahler Hotel, a landmark downtown fixture since 1921, has ripped out its Grand Grill in the lobby to make way for a 7,800-sqare foot Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The new restaurant opens in January, said Drew Fuchs, the Kahler hospitality manager. The 600-room hotel is in the middle of a four-year renovation project, of which Ruth’s Chris Steak house is part. The restaurant company’s only other Minnesota location is in downtown Minneapolis, which opened in 1992.
Kahler’s main entrance on Third Avenue The hotel’s multi-million dollar remodeling, a four-year project, means doing away with its Grand Grill.
Ruth’s Chris Steak House profile
Ruth’s is an upscale steakhouse chain with 150 locations. Its roots were as Chris Steakhouse in Orleans on 1927. It was acquired in 1965 by Ruth Fertel, a divorced mother who needed to raise money to send her sons to college. Hence the name Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. On her first day in business Ruth sold 35 steaks at $5. A rib eye on the menu today is $116. Sides are extra. Ruth’s recently was acquired by the giant Darden chain, whose 1,800 properties include Olive Garden, Seasons 52, LongHorn Steakhouse, and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen. Red Lobster was part of Darden but no more.