Ruth Fertel*

Ruth Fertel was born in New Orleans in 1927. Her father was an insurance salesman, and her mother taught kindergarten. Her parents instilled in her strong moral values, with honesty at the top of the list. They also emphasized education and its importance. Nobody questioned that they would find a way to send Fertel to college when the time came.

A bright student, Fertel skipped several grades and graduated from high school when she was only 15. She attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and worked part-time jobs to help pay her expenses. She studied chemistry and physics, but was undecided about a career when she graduated. After teaching for one year at John McNeese Junior College, she realized she did not like teaching. She quit her job to marry and raise a family.

When Fertel's marriage ended ten years later, she supported herself and her two young sons by making draperies at home. Later, she spent four years working at Tulane University Medical School, but she grew tired of her low-paying job and knew it would never earn her enough to send her sons to college. When she noticed a "For Sale" ad in her local paper for a small restaurant called Chris Steak House, she instinctively felt this was an opportunity she could not ignore.

Fertel had to put her home up as collateral to buy the $18,000 restaurant. Her banker, her lawyer, and her best friend all advised against the purchase. But Fertel was determined. On her first day on the job, she sold 35 steaks for $5 each. In the first six months, she cleared more than double her previous salary.

Although she was a small woman, Fertel had to learn how to cut meat and had to pick up 30-pound loins of beef to saw the bone by hand into steaks. She also served as the restaurant's hostess, assisted the waitresses, and did her own books. One of her first investments was an electric band saw.

Fertel's first franchise opened in 1977, and Ruth's Chris Steak House eventually became the world's largest upscale restaurant chain, with locations United States, as well as Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Asia.

Fertel once said, "My story gives hope and inspiration to everyone that, no matter what station in life you come from, you can achieve anything in America with hard work and determination."