Ruth Fertel facts for kids

Ruth Ann Udstad Fertel (born February 5, 1927 – died April 16, 2002) was a smart American businesswoman. She is most famous for starting the well-known restaurant chain, Ruth's Chris Steak House, in 1965.

Early Life and Education

Ruth Ann Udstad was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her family didn't have much money. Her dad sold insurance, and her mom was a kindergarten teacher. In 1932, during a tough time called the Great Depression, her family moved to Homeplace, a small community about 60 miles from New Orleans.

Ruth was a very bright student. She skipped a few grades in elementary school and finished high school when she was just 15. She then went to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. She graduated with honors at age 19, studying chemistry and physics.

After college, in 1946, Ruth worked as a teacher at McNeese State University. She taught there for about a year.

In 1948, she married Rodney Fertel. They both loved horses and even opened a horse racing stable. Ruth became the first woman in Louisiana to get a license to train racehorses! Ruth and Rodney later divorced in 1958.

Ruth needed to earn more money to support herself and her two sons, Jerry and Randy. She first made drapes from her home. In 1961, she got a job as a lab technician at Tulane University School of Medicine.

Starting a Restaurant

Chris' Steak House (1965–1976)

In 1965, Ruth realized she needed even more money to send her sons to college. She saw an ad in the newspaper for a restaurant for sale. It was called Chris Steak House, and it had 60 seats in New Orleans. Ruth felt it was a sign because the restaurant had opened on her birthday, February 5, 1927.

Even though her banker, lawyer, and friends told her not to, Ruth mortgaged her house to buy the restaurant. She didn't know anything about running a restaurant, and the business had failed many times before. She bought it for $18,000 and spent another $4,000 on repairs and food. On her very first day, May 24, 1965, she sold 35 steaks. In just six months, she earned more than double her old salary!

Ruth worked incredibly hard. She learned how to cut steaks herself. Even though she was small, she would cut big 30-pound pieces of meat by hand until she could afford an electric saw. She hired single mothers to work at her restaurant, saying they were reliable and hardworking. For many years, her restaurant was special because it was the only fancy one in New Orleans with only female wait staff. Important people like politicians, athletes, and famous musicians like Fats Domino loved to eat there.

Ruth's Chris Steak House (1976 onwards)

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse logo

In 1976, a fire badly damaged the restaurant. Ruth had just signed a new ten-year lease. But she quickly found a new place nearby. In just seven days, she moved the restaurant and reopened it! The new location was bigger, with 160 seats.

Because of the sales agreement, she couldn't use the name "Chris Steak House" at a different address. So, she named her new restaurant Ruth's Chris Steak House. She later said she didn't like the name much, but it became very famous! Many important people, like reporters, would go there to get the latest news. Ruth even bought two houses behind the restaurant, fixed them up, and lived there for the rest of her life.

That same year, Ruth decided to let others open restaurants using her name. The first franchised restaurant opened in 1977 in Baton Rouge. It was opened by a loyal customer named Thomas J. "T. J." Moran. Ruth said, "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."

The restaurant chain grew very fast. Soon, there were over 80 locations in the U.S. and other countries. Ruth won many awards for being a great businesswoman. People even called her "The First Lady of American Restaurants" or "The Empress of Steak."

Ruth continued to run the business for many years. In 1997, when she was 70, she visited 42 of her restaurants to check on them. In 1999, when she became ill, she sold the chain to a company called Madison Dearborn Partners.

Death

Ruth Fertel passed away in 2002 at the age of 75 due to an illness. She was buried in Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery in a beautiful mausoleum she had helped design. It was a special building with black columns and stained glass windows.

Honors and Awards

Ruth Fertel received many awards for her amazing work:

• 1992 – Regional Entrepreneur of the Year, Inc. Magazine
• 1995 – Entrepreneur of the Year, Horatio Alger Association
• 1999 – Lafcadio Hearn Award, from the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute
• 2001 – Ella Brennan Savoir Faire Award
• DiRōNA (Distinguished Restaurants of North America) Hall of Fame Member
• Executive of the Year, Restaurants and Institutions Magazine
• Restaurant Business High Performance Leadership Award

Legacy and Philanthropy

Ruth Fertel was also known for her kindness and charity. In 1965, when Hurricane Betsy hit New Orleans, her restaurant lost power. Instead of letting the food spoil, she cooked everything and gave free steak meals to disaster workers and people who needed help.

She also helped many children get an education. She gave advice to women who wanted to start their own businesses and supported local schools.

The Ruth U. Fertel Foundation was created after she passed away. It helps support education in Louisiana, from kindergarten all the way to college. For example, after Hurricane Katrina in 2006, the foundation gave away $1.2 million to help.

The Ruth U. Fertel Culinary Arts Center is a planned expansion at Nicholls State University. It will have kitchens, classrooms, and a student-run restaurant to teach young chefs.

The annual Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award honors people who have made a big difference in the world of food. The award started in 2000. The person who wins gets money and a documentary film made about them.

Some of the people who have won this award include:

• 2000 J.C. Hardaway – a pitmaster from Memphis, TN
• 2001 Ed Scott – a catfish farmer from Drew, MS
• 2002 James Willis – a pitmaster from Memphis, TN
• 2003 Bill Best – a farmer from Berea, KY
• 2004 Martha Hawkins – a restaurant owner from Montgomery, AL
• 2005 Martin Sawyer – a bartender from New Orleans, LA
• 2006 Tommy Ward – an oysterman from Apalachicola, FL
• 2007 Elizabeth Scott – a tamale maker from Greenville, MS
• 2008 Earl Cruze – a dairy farmer from Knoxville, TN
• 2009 Geno Lee – a restaurant owner from Jackson, MS
• 2010 Peter Nguyen – representing Vietnamese fishing communities in MS
• 2011 Hardy Farms – a peanut farm in Hawkinsville, GA
• 2012 Helen Turner — a pitmistress from Brownsville, TN
• 2013 Alzina Toups — operates a Cajun restaurant in Galliano, LA
• 2014 Goren "Red Dog" Avery — a professional waiter from Birmingham, AL
• 2015 Phila Hach — a caterer, innkeeper, and author from Nashville, TN
• 2016 David Shields — a historian from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
• 2017 Laura Patricia Ramírez — a tortilleria owner from Lexington, KY
• 2018 Adrian Miller — an author from Denver, CO
• 2019 Felton Hurst — a restaurant owner from Kenner, LA
• 2020 Hanan Shabazz — a restaurateur and activist from Asheville, NC