Quote:
Originally Posted by Wheelhouse
It reminds me of "Ruth's Chris Steakhouse." Is "Chris" a kind of steak or steakhouse? Or does Ruth own Chris? I think the name was created just to get the attention of someone like me. First time I saw one, a had to pull over and muse on the nonsensical name.
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Again, Wiki knows all...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth's_Chris_Steakhouse
The chain was founded by Ruth Fertel, a single mother of two, in 1965, after she bought the existing Chris Steak House in New Orleans. In buying the restaurant, Fertel had to agree that the restaurant keep the "Chris" name for a specified period of time. After the original location sustained a kitchen fire, she relocated the restaurant about 1/2 mile (1 km) to the west on Broad Street and renamed the rebuilt establishment "Ruth's Chris" (under her purchase agreement, the name Chris Steak House could not be used at any other location, and she did not want to lose customers already familiar with the Chris name).
Fertel started to franchise the restaurant in the 1970s. By the time Fertel was legally allowed to take Chris out of the name, the chain (and its unique name) had become famous in many places across the country, and she therefore decided to keep the name.