Ruth Fertel, became the first female horse trainer in Louisiana aged just 24yrs old, whilst owning a racing stable with her Husband Rodney, who she later divorced in 1958. After realising she could not raise her two son’s on the alimony she was given. Ruth then tried a few jobs until in 1965 she saw an advert in a newspaper advertising a local restaurant that was up for sale, named Chris’s Steakhouse in. She immediately re-mortgaged her house in order to buy the restaurant in a bid to work for herself. Shortly after purchasing the Steakhouse there was a huge hurricane that left the building without power, instead of letting the food in the freezer go to waste, she managed to cook it all elsewhere and took it to her local Parish to help those in need. Chris’s Steakhouse is back up and running in no time and the business was doing well, until a fire which broke out destroyed the restaurant.

With her entrepreneurial streak not willing to give up, Ruth bought another property just a few blocks from the original restaurant, but found complications with the naming of her new business. A legally binding document stated that the name Chris’s Steakhouse could not be used or replicated anywhere other than on the plot of the original building. She renamed the business Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Then in 1976 after several failures a local customer convinced Ruth to open up his own franchise on a very busy highway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The success of this franchise was immediate and other friends, family members and associates tried to convince her to let them open their own franchise too. Her success was huge and by 1985 she had over 15 other franchises, by 1992 she was awarded the Regional Entrepreneur of the year, by 1995 she was awarded the National Entrepreneur of the year and in 2001 she won the Ella Brennan Savoir Faire Award. A very clever lady indeed.