WILMINGTON, NC — Ruth’s Chris Steak House will be moving from Hotel Ballast and into downtown’s newest high-end, mixed-use real-estate development, River Place, in June 2021.
It will be joining the 13-story, block-long riverfront complex on Water and Front streets, which houses 92 luxury condominiums and 79 apartment homes with a prime view of the Cape Fear River. River Place will include 31,400 square feet of retail and dining establishments, and will join businesses like Axis Fitness, Mellow Mushroom, Bank of America, Citrus Salon, Nutrition Spot and DGX, an urban grocery and fresh market.
Franchised by Steve DeCastro — who also owns Ruth’s Chris in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Annapolis, Baltimore, Odenton and Pikesville, Maryland, as well as in Cary, Durham and Raleigh, North Carolina — the move will grow the steak house into 7,000 square feet of indoor dining. Plus, there will be more than 2,000 square feet for its outdoor mezzanine dining. Combined, it will accommodate 320 diners.
According to a press release from East West Partners, which oversees River Place, and Momentum Companies, which represented the transaction, upfit on the space will begin immediately.
Senior managing partner for River Place, Lucien Ellison, said in the press release, “The restaurant’s signature fine dining atmosphere and capacity to satisfy residents of and visitors to downtown Wilmington make it a perfect fit for our central location, riverfront views and the high-end style that defines River Place.”
Ruth’s Chris is a national restaurant with 50 years of fine-dining experience. It originally started in New Orleans, Louisiana, from founder Ruth Fertel and has grown into 140 locations worldwide.
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