When travelling in the United States, Ruth’s Chris Steak House has always been a favorite stop of ours. There are six Canadian locations, including three in Toronto and others in Niagara Falls, Calgary, and Edmonton. Not only were we fortunate enough to dine at the downtown Toronto spot, situated within the Hilton Hotel, I also got a true history lesson when I interviewed an incredible woman who was close friends with founder Ruth Fertel.
In 1965, a time when most women couldn’t even apply for a bank card without their husband’s signature, Fertel risked it all and mortgaged her home to buy a small steak house in New Orleans. As a single mom with two boys, Ruth taught herself the restaurant business, endured countless challenges and, in the process, redefined hospitality. When a kitchen fire destroyed Chris Steak House in 1976, Ruth was forced to relocate her business, but the Chris Steak House name wasn’t allowed to come along. Short on time, Ruth improvised, adding her name to the sign. That made it “Ruth’s Chris Steak House,” and voila, the legendary name was born.
The First Lady of Steak
Known as the First Lady of Steak, Ruth Fertel was something special. From a 60-seat steak house, she built a business that spans the globe, but she never lost sight of her original recipe for success: perfect steak, warm hospitality and good times that never stop rolling.
In 1968, Lana made a sales call on a single mother who was running a popular steak house on Broad Street in Mid-City New Orleans. Before long, Lana’s agency had the Ruth’s Chris Steak House account and Lana began a 26-year professional relationship and personal friendship with Ruth Fertel. She worked hand-in-hand with Ruth to develop the successful marketing program that helped grow Ruth’s Chris Steak House from two restaurants in Louisiana to the world’s largest fine dining steak house brand.
The three Toronto locations are owned by Lana Duke, a native of St. Catherines, Ontario, who grew up in a foster home. Eventually moving on to Toronto, she left there at age 18 and moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, with only $350 to her name. To make ends meet, she took jobs selling pots and pans door-to-door and as a short-order cook. Lana soon graduated to advertising, first at the Clarion-Herald newspaper in New Orleans, where she worked her way up to advertising director. Then, in 1975, with $10,000 in savings, she opened her own ad agency. Duke Unlimited would eventually become the largest woman-owned agency in the Gulf South. In the years to come, Lana would often be called the “secret weapon” behind some of the great success stories in American business.
“We were the best friends,” Lana told me in an interview.
Selling The Steak and the Sizzle
For Ruth’s Chris, Lana always kept her focus on selling the steak and the sizzle. “We took one central idea – the sizzling steak is the star – and stayed with it over the years, never wavering but refining the concept, expanding it and building a No. 1 brand,” Lana says. She became a trusted counselor within the Ruth’s Chris organization, becoming involved with much more than the marketing. Lana helped with troubled restaurants and guided them to successful turnarounds; she spent many long days with Ruth and other Ruth’s Chris executives, brainstorming ways to improve the business and to make it even more successful.
Such a believer in the product was Lana that in 1993, she became a Ruth’s Chris franchise owner, opening her first restaurant in San Antonio. The restaurant was profitable from the beginning, and Lana was able to repay her investors early. In June 2000, a second Ruth’s Chris debuted in San Antonio and has since had a very successful relocation to the Grand Hyatt hotel on the River Walk in 2013. In 2015, San Antonio welcomed a third location on La Cantera Terrace next to the Eilan Hotel.
First Canadian Location
With a love for her Canadian roots, Lana opened her first Canadian location in downtown Toronto in 1995 inside the Hilton Hotel. This spot continues to be profitable after 30 years of service. Another Canadian location opened in Mississauga, Ontario, in 2003 and made a successful transfer to a stand-alone building near the airport on Dixon Road in 2017. With the expansion of the downtown Markham area, Ruth’s Chris opened a third location in the new Marriott Hotel on Enterprise Boulevard in 2018.
“When Ruth told me of her plans to open in Toronto, I asked if she’d consider me,” Lana recalled. “How proud I was as a Canadian!
Lana is involved in all her locations, but is also focused on giving more time and attention to giving back by helping to teach others how to be more successful. She is frequently asked to speak to a variety of business organizations, as well as to college and university audiences. Lana shares the advantages of having a vision, thinking big, delivering customer satisfaction, going with your gut and understanding the “Five P’s” of marketing – Product, Price, People, Place and Promotion. These are just a few of her suggested “Ten Tips for Success in this Crazy Business,” a speech she frequently gives to business and professional groups.
Lana has also recently started a Power of 100 Dinner series in Toronto. The series is comprised of like-minded women dedicated to philanthropy, fellowship and a mission of helping those in need to better the community and have FUN while doing it. Events are held quarterly for fundraising with a twist: food, beverage, fellowship and fun. The attendees nominate their favorite non-profit at registration. Three individuals are randomly chosen, and the nominee has the opportunity to tell us why their non-profit should be considered for selection. During the event, an open vote is taken for the winning featured non-profit. Each attendee then writes their check for $100 to be paid directly to the selected non-profit. With community as a focus, Power of 100 has donated to local Toronto-based charities such as Debra Canada, KIP and Covenant House.
Lana says the greatest lesson she has learned over the years is that something good can come from even the worst experiences and that adversity makes you a stronger person. While Lana didn’t always have the support of a family to guide her, she worked harder to achieve greater opportunities and to open doors for her future, which otherwise might have remained closed. Lana’s mantra became: “Even if you don’t feel confident, fake it ‘til you make it! Be assertive and learn to speak with confidence.” She also believes that out of everything bad comes something good, a lesson learned throughout the challenging experiences in her life.
From their expertly broiled USDA Prime cuts and fresh seafood to handcrafted cocktails and warm, attentive service, every meal at Ruth’s Chris is crafted with care and tradition.
Our Dining Experience in Toronto
We arrived at the Hilton Hotel at Richmond and University Street, where they serve USDA prime steaks, the freshest seafood and poultry, imaginative side dishes, unforgettable desserts and an award-winning wine list.
Our server was Kimberly, who has worked at this location for 27 years and had high praise for Lana. “It is not like working for a corporation,” she said. “We feel very close to Lana. It’s the reason why so many of us have worked here for a long time.”
As some warm bread arrived at the table, we started off with some drinks and allowed Kimberly to guide us through the menu. She was extremely thorough, providing some good recommendations. There were three of us that night and given the large portions, we were advised to share
We began with some appetizers, leading off with the house favorite, the sizzling crab cakes. The two jumbo lump crab cakes, with lemon butter, melted in our mouths. We also enjoyed 12 fresh seasonal oysters.
At Ruth’s Chris, your steak is carefully selected from the finest USDA Prime beef available. It is aged to perfection and cut by hand at the restaurant. Then, your cut is broiled – to your exact order – at a searing 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit to lock in the corn-fed flavor and natural juices. It’s served hot and sizzling. In fact, you can actually hear your steak sizzling from across the room on a buttered plate at 500 degrees.
We chose the porterhouse for two, a 40-ounce USDA prime cut, combining the rich flavor of a strip and the tenderness of a filet. It was more than enough for three of us to share. In fact, we had two pieces left that we packed up to enjoy the next day.
As for sides, we went for the crab fried rice and the au gratin potatoes. The former had an absolutely delicious taste. This dish contained jasmine rice, crabmeat, ginger, vegetables and fish sauce. The former consisted of Idaho potatoes and three cheese sauce.
We did save room for dessert and let me tell you that the portions here are very generous. The warm apple pie was truly something special, coming with ice cream. We also opted for the key lime pie.
This Ruth’s Chris Steak House can seat over 200 diners. You enter via a dedicated entrance at street level and take an elevator to the entrance. In 2019, the restaurant underwent a major renovation.
As for whether Montreal was ever considered for a Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Lana told me that there have been discussions in the past, but nothing came of it.
Ruth’s Chris Downtown Toronto is located at 145 Richmond Street West at the Hilton Hotel. For more information, call (416) 955-1455 or log on to www.ruthschris.ca. Hours of operation are Monday to Thursday, from 3 pm to 10 pm; Friday and Saturday, from 4 pm to 10 pm; and Sunday, from 3 pm to 9 pm. Happy Hour is 3 pm to 6 pm daily.