Ruth's Chris Steak House Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $2.5M – $6.4M
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (2)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Ruth's Chris Steak House is an upscale steakhouse franchise serving USDA Prime steaks sizzling on hot plates, with a full bar. Franchisees run fine-dining restaurants managing kitchen, bar, and a large service staff.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Ruth's Chris Steak House franchise requires a total initial investment of $2.5M – $6.4M, including a $100K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $2.5M – $6.4M
- 39th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 135
- 33rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $2.5M – $6.4M including a $100K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 65/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -1 franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 1 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Ruth's Chris Steak House Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- RCSH Operations, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2025 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Darden Restaurants, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2025 FDD
- Predecessor
- Ruth Fertel, Inc. (d/b/a Chris Steak House)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President
- Bradley S. Smith
- Incorporated in
- Louisiana
- HQ
- 1000 Darden Center Drive, Orlando, Florida 32837
- Auditor
- WithumSmith+Brown, PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $46.5M
- vs $18.7M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Affiliated brands
- Darden
- Darden Franchising
- Darden APAC
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Bradley S. Smith
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 1972
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 38
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 553% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Feenot refundable | $100K | $100K | |
| Site Location Feasibility and Marketing Study | $5K | $10K | |
| Real Estate and Improvements | $1.0M | $3.5M | |
| Equipment, Furniture and Fixtures | $750K | $970K | |
| Signage | $25K | $85K | |
| Pre-Opening Marketing and Public Relations | $30K | $70K | |
| Pre-Opening & Training Inventory (Food & Beverages) | $90K | $200K | |
| Initial Inventory (Food & Beverages) | $120K | $350K | |
| Point of Sale Computer Hardware and Software and Office Material | $25K | $150K | |
| Management Training Expenses | $57K | $120K | |
| New Store Opening Assistance Training Expense | $80K | $150K | |
| Alcoholic Beverages License and other Business Permits | $10K | $180K | |
| Insurance deposits and Premiums (for first year) | $30K | $45K | |
| Utility Deposits | $5K | $100K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $150K | $350K | |
| Total initial investment | $2.5M | $6.4M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $2.5M – $6.4M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $150K – $350K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $100K – $100K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of net sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of net sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $50K |
| Renewal fee | $30K |
| Inventory (initial) | $210K – $550K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Ruth's Chris Steak House makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Ruth's Chris Steak House unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
No financial performance representation
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% (near the Full-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (-1.9% 3-year CAGR) with 135 units.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Full-Service Restaurants medians
How Ruth's Chris Steak House Compares
Category median of published Full-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 135
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.7%
- Company-owned
- 84
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 38%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -1.9%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -1.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 98.1%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 0.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 21 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- New York
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Washington
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
86 current owners across 21 states.
- NC 10
- GA 9
- IN 8
- MD 8
- SC 7
- AL 6
- TX 5
- PA 4
- VA 4
- MI 3
- MO 3
- UT 3
- +9 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 2 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- $2.9M
- Median loan
- $1.5M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (2)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 2 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (2)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (2)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Ruth's Chris is a clean, mature franchisor (franchising since 1972) with net worth of $283.6M and net income of $28.2M, audited financials, and zero litigation or bankruptcy. No Item 19 is a minor note but financials are exceptionally strong. Slight -1.9% unit change is immaterial across 135 units.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation information provided in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · WithumSmith+Brown, PC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNet worth $283,631,000, net income $28,185,000
- 02MINORZero litigation, no bankruptcy, no going concern
- 03MINORNo Item 19 disclosure (minor)
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory sizeℹ | Assigned Area |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation information provided in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 168 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 352 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- Franchisee, with franchisor design guidelines/specifications and approval; franchisor provides Pre-Opening Coordinator advice
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
88 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Ruth's Chris Steak House franchise?
The total investment to open a Ruth's Chris Steak House franchise ranges from $2.5M – $6.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $100K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Ruth's Chris Steak House franchise owners earn?
Ruth's Chris Steak House makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Ruth's Chris Steak House?
Ruth's Chris Steak House is franchised by Ruth's Chris Steak House Franchise, LLC. Its parent company is RCSH Operations, Inc.. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Darden Restaurants, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Ruth's Chris Steak House FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Ruth's Chris Steak House FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Ruth's Chris Steak House's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Ruth's Chris Steak House (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Ruth's Chris Steak House franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Ruth's Chris Steak House has 135 total units in the United States, including 51 franchised units and 84 company-owned units.
Is Ruth's Chris Steak House a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Ruth's Chris Steak House as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 65 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.