Draft:Jeffrey Ruby

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Jeffrey Ruby
Born
Brian Jeffrey Kranz

(1948-04-19) April 19, 1948 (age 76)
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma materCornell University
Occupations
Years active1981-Present
Known forJeff Ruby Steakhouse
Children
  • Brittany Ruby Miller(CEO Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment)
  • Dillon Ruby
  • Brandon Ruby
Websitejeffruby.com/about

Jeffrey Ruby, (born Brian Jeffrey Kranz), is an American restaurateur and businessman.[1] He is the founder of Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment, which owns renowned restaurants including five Jeff Ruby Steakhouses, The Precinct, and Carlo & Johnny.[2][3]

Early life

Jeff Ruby was born on April 19, 1948, in Newark, New Jersey. He left home at the age of 15 and rented a small room in a house he shared with senior citizens.[4] Jeff started working at Perkins Restaurant and Bakery while still in his high school. His high school football coach assisted with Jeff getting a scholarship to Cornell University.[4]

Career

Jeff attended Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, graduating in 1965.[5] After graduating from Cornell, Jeff was asked by the owner of Holiday Inn to manage one of his hotels in Cincinnati. At the Holiday Inn in Cincinnati, Jeff met Johnny Bench and Pete Rose, becoming business partners with them. With their financial backing, Jeff was able to open his first restaurant, The Precinct, in 1981.[6] The Precinct has since become the longest-running fine dining restaurant in Cincinnati. Jeff's second restaurant, The Waterfront, opened in 1986. The Waterfront was a floating restaurant on the Ohio River in Cincinnati. In the 2010s, The Waterfront struggled due to issues with the restaurant breaking free twice from its dock and a barge hitting it. The Waterfront became submerged in the Ohio River and had to be demolished in October 2014.[7]

In 1999, Jeff opened his first restaurant, Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse, using his signature name. Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse was located on Walnut Street and quickly became a popular restaurant in Cincinnati. The steakhouse expanded with a second location in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2001.[8] In 2016, Jeff expanded his business with the establishment of Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse in Nashville, Tennessee.[9][10] In 2017, Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse opened a third location in Columbus, Ohio.[11] In 2019, Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse opened a fourth location in Lexington, Kentucky.[12] In Spring of 2020, jeff made her daughter Brittany Ruby Miller CEO of Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment.[13] In 2022, the first Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse relocated to a new development called The Foundry at Fountain Square.[14][15] In 2024, Jeff Ruby Steaks reached a milestone of $100 million in revenue.[16]

In 2010, Jeff began sponsoring jockeys, not for profit but to donate to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.[17]In 2018, the Spiral Stakes, an American Thoroughbred horse race at Turfway Park, was renamed the Jeff Ruby Steaks.[18]

In 2016, Jeff made a cameo appearance in the biopic "Gotti" (2018), which portrays life of John Gotti, the boss of the Gambino crime family.[19][20][21]

Legal cases

In 2013, three former waitstaff employees from Carlo & Johnny and Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse downtown filed a federal lawsuit against the restaurants, claiming they were compelled to contribute some of their tips to a pooled fund.[22] In February 2024, another former employee initiated a class action federal labor lawsuit against Jeff Ruby Steaks, alleging that seven of the restaurants required tipped employees to share tips with back-of-house staff.[23][24] Ruby characterized the allegations as originating from a "former disgruntled employee" and stated that the company intended to defence itself in court.[25][26]

Media

In 2007, Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse in Louisville made national news when Jeff refused to serve O. J. Simpson.[27] Also in 2016, he banned Donald Trump from his restaurant during a campaign visit due to insulting comments Trump made about Arizona Sen. John McCain and other POWs, questioning their status as heroes.[28] In 2023, he catered a special dinner for the Damar Hamlin family at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.[29]

Various celebrities, including Drake and Sylvester Stallone, are frequent diners at Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse.[30][31]

Not Counting Tomorrow The Unlikely Life of Jeff Ruby
AuthorJeff Ruby
LanguageEnglish
GenreAutobiography
PublisherBlack Tie Productions, Inc.
Publication date
January 16, 2013
Pages364
ISBN1-467-59348-6

Publications

In 2014, Jeff published his autobiography called Not Counting Tomorrow: The Unlikely Life of Jeff Ruby.[32][33]

References

  1. ^ Moorwood, Victoria. "'Jeff Ruby Way' coming to a Downtown street in honor of local restaurateur". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  2. ^ Bollaci, Fred (July 16, 2016). "EFF RUBY'S STEAKHOUSE & THE PRECINCT BY JEFF RUBY". Fred Bollaci Enterprises. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  3. ^ Bleiberg, Larry. "10Best: Kix Brooks sings the praises of these steakhouses". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  4. ^ a b Paolello, Sheree (23 May 2017). "Meet Jeff Ruby: The story behind the provocative, outspoken restaurateur". wlwt.com. WLWT. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  5. ^ Weaver, Bridgett (2017-11-21). "IN PERSON: Jeff Ruby says, 'They come to our restaurants to celebrate life'". Louisville Business First. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  6. ^ Wiley, Chelsea (9 December 2017). "Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse Is Audacious, Excessive, And Outrageous … And You're Going To Love It". Columbus Navigator. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  7. ^ BieryGolic, Keith (October 17, 2014). "Ruby's Waterfront became 'Poseidon Adventure'". Cincinnati. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  8. ^ "Jeff Ruby says Louisville steakhouse is staying open". WDRB. August 12, 2020. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  9. ^ "A Look Inside: Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse". Nashville Guru. 2016-07-12. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  10. ^ Pandolfi, Keith (January 18, 2022). "'We will not let you down.' Jeff Ruby's to provide 'safe space' for Bengals fans in Nashville". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  11. ^ Brownfield, Andy (May 5, 2016). "Jeff Ruby opening Columbus steakhouse". Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  12. ^ "Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse announces Lexington opening; reservations being accepted". WKYT. March 28, 2019. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  13. ^ Coolidge, Jason Williams and Sharon. "Jeff Ruby's empire celebrates 40 years soon, and Britney Ruby Miller is building on dad's legacy". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  14. ^ Weldon, Casey (August 9, 2021). "Jeff Ruby's Restaurant relocating to The Foundry at Fountain Square". Spectrum News. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  15. ^ Pandolfi, Keith. "Jeff Ruby's staff says goodbye to longtime home before move to Fountain Square". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  16. ^ LeDuc, Christian (2024-04-04). "HIGHER STEAKS:For the Ruby restaurant group, hitting $100M in revenue is just the beginning". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  17. ^ Chengery, Elyse (May 16, 2018). "Restauranteur [sic] Jeff Ruby talks charity work for injured jockeys, sponsoring KY Derby winner". NBC 4I. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  18. ^ "From Spiral Stakes to Jeff Ruby Steaks". The Enquirer. January 25, 2018. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  19. ^ Brownfield, Andy (August 16, 2016). "Jeff Ruby cast in John Travolta film". Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  20. ^ Baker, Jennifer (2018-06-15). "Cincinnati-shot 'Gotti' biopic opens Friday with Jeff Ruby, Joe Deters in scenes". FOX19. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  21. ^ Motsinger, Carol (June 15, 2018). "'Gotti' is about a New York City icon, but we spotted Cincinnati throughout the new movie". Cincinnati. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  22. ^ Katko, Ben (2013-08-27). "Jeff Ruby responds to suit from ex-employees". FOX19. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  23. ^ Kelso, Alicia (2024-03-11). "Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse parent sued for tip theft". Restaurant Hospitality. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  24. ^ Six, Taylor; Patton, Janet (2024-02-28). "Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse parent sued for tip theft". Restaurant Hospitality. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  25. ^ King, Courtney (2024-02-28). "Lawsuit filed against Jeff Ruby's; CEO says 'untrue'". FOX19. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  26. ^ Sick, Chelsea (2024-02-28). "Former employee files class action lawsuit against Jeff Ruby restaurants over shared tips". WKRC. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  27. ^ Harvey, Scott (May 9, 2007). "Restaurant owner says O.J. Simpson just not welcome". Wave 3. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  28. ^ Aldridge, Kevin S. "He kicked out O.J. Simpson, banned Donald Trump from his restaurant. But what about Sarah Sanders?". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  29. ^ Ogwude, Haadiza. "'It becomes personal for me': Restauranteur Jeff Ruby caters free dinner for Damar Hamlin's family". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  30. ^ Hodges, Bebe (2024-03-02). "'Rocky' actor Sylvester Stallone spotted at Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse". The Enquirer. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  31. ^ Behrens, Cole (2024-02-23). "Here's where Drake stopped for dinner in Columbus after one of his shows". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  32. ^ Williams, Jason. "Cincinnati restaurant icon serves up autobiography". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  33. ^ Ruby, Jeff; Windeler, Jeffrey; Windeler, Robert (2013). Not Counting Tomorrow: The Unlikely Life of Jeff Rudy. Independent Publisher. ISBN 978-1-4675-9348-9.