Durham's first Ruth's Chris Steak House, a nationally acclaimed upscale steakhouse restaurant, will open on Aug. 24, adding 75 new jobs and the third Ruth's Chris Steak House to the Triangle area.

The highly anticipated restaurant opening will bring considerable sizzle to the Southpoint Mall area with its trademarked 1800 degree oven, melt-in-your-mouth steaks, seafood and specialty cocktails.

"We look forward to opening our third Triangle location and anticipate the Southpoint restaurant should be a great draw from Durham, Chapel Hill, the Research Triangle Park and beyond," said Steve de Castro, CEO of Big Steaks Management and Ruth's Chris Steak House's North Carolina franchisee. "Despite the challenging economy, the Triangle remains one of the strongest regions in the country."

"We spent quite a few years scouting many locations west of RDU Airport," added David Sadeghi, COO of Big Steaks Management and a long-time resident of Chapel Hill. "This particular location should attract a good mix of residents from the nearby neighborhoods and communities, business travelers, Southpoint shoppers, plus alumni and sports fans from Duke, UNC and beyond."

"Durham has a strong reputation as a culinary destination," said Shelly Green, COO and President & CEO-Elect of the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We're delighted to add Ruth's Chris Steak House to the mix of fine dining options."

Located at 7007 Fayetteville Road and adjacent to the Hilton Garden Inn Durham/Southpoint, the new, sleekly designed, 8,500-square-foot restaurant will feature spacious private dining and banquet facilities in addition to a decorative bar, lounge and dining rooms. With more and more American diners eager to indulge in a thick, juicy steak this upscale steak house is sure to please. Guests will select from a menu that specializes in generous cuts of corn-fed USDA Prime Midwestern beef, cut daily and never frozen, custom-aged to the peak of flavor, broiled to order at 1800 degrees to lock in the natural juices and served sizzling on a 500 degree plate as well as live Maine lobster and daily fresh seafood selections. New Orleans-inspired appetizers, unforgettable desserts and an award-winning wine list round out the menu, all of which have earned the brand national accolades and top Zagat ratings.

The Durham restaurant is the third Ruth's Chris Steak House location to open in North Carolina in the past year by Big Steaks Management, a Ruth's Chris Steak House franchisee. The two additional locations were Wilmington (June 2008) and Raleigh North Hills (July 2008). Big Steaks Management has also operated the Cary location since 1997.

Big Steaks Management started with its first Ruth's Chris Steak House restaurant on Baltimore's Water Street in 1992, followed by Cary, NC, Annapolis, MD, two more locations in the Baltimore area, as well as one in Atlantic City, NJ. With these three new North Carolina locations, Big Steaks Management now operates nine Ruth's Chris Steak House franchises.

The original Ruth's Chris Steak House restaurant was established in 1965 when founder, Ruth Fertel, purchased Chris Steak House in New Orleans. Against the advice of her lawyer and her banker, she mortgaged her house and bought the restaurant, eventually renaming it Ruth's Chris Steak House. Today, Ruth's Chris Steak House company is the largest upscale steakhouse group in the world with over 130 restaurants worldwide, still serving many of Ruth's original recipes.

About Big Steaks Management, LLC
Headquartered in Pikesville, Maryland and established in 1998, Big Steaks Management, LLC operates nine Ruth's Chris Steak House locations across Maryland, New Jersey and North Carolina. In Maryland, the company also operates Babalu Grill, Blue Sea Grill, The Crystal Room, and Havana Club - Baltimore City's only indoor smoking venue. The company currently employs more than 800 people across Maryland, New Jersey and North Carolina.