“It was really rough for a while,” said Ruth Fertel of being a 38-
year-old divorced mother living in New Orleans in the early 1960s. She
worked at Tulane Medical School as a lab technician to make ends meet.
However, she eventually decided she would need to go into business for
herself in order to accomplish her mission of raising funds to send her two
boys to college.
Fertel saw an ad in the newspaper in 1965: “Steak House For Sale
$18,000.” Without hesitating, she mortgaged her house and bought it. She
had no restaurant experience and knew nothing about cooking steaks.
The seller was supposed to stay onboard for a few weeks to show
Fertel how to run the restaurant, but he emptied the cash register and
walked out. Fertel was a woman who thrived on challenges and she quickly
taught herself how to do everything–cooking, serving, accounting. She’d
even butcher the steaks by hand, often with the door ajar so her customers
could see how hard she was working.
To help her, Fertel hired an all-female serving staff made up of
single mothers, because she viewed them as hardworking and reliable.
Ruth’s Chris Steak House became the only upscale restaurant in New
Orleans with female waiters. Fertel said “We went out of our way to please
our customers. We spoiled them.” According to Takeoutery, Ruth’s Chris
customers affectionately nicknamed them the “Broads of Broad Street.”
Fertel began searing her steaks at 1800 degrees in a broiler and
serving them on heated plates with a pat of butter. This created a loud
sizzle that could be heard from afar, and a delicious aroma as the steaks
were served. Within six months she was earning more than double from her
restaurant what she had been paid as a lab technician.
After expanding to three locations in New Orleans, Fertel granted
franchises to some of her best customers which helped her further grow
her tribe. Ruth’s Chris was acquired by Darden Restaurants in 2023, and
now has over 100 restaurants. Despite her success and the growth of her
company, for Fertel it was always, “One steak at a time.”
