Jeff Ruby
Lexington, KY - Over the course of the last year many rumors have swirled around Lexington regarding if, when, and where renown Cincinnati restaurateur Jeff Ruby might open a Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse in town. There have been many reported “Jeff Ruby sightings,” to feed the grapevine. Ruby now confirms to Business Lexington that he has reached an agreement (with some details still being finalized) with the Webb Companies to open a Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse in the Webb’s planned Centrepointe development in downtown Lexington.
An opening date will, of course, depend on the pace of development and construction of the project, which could mean approximately 2014. Design work, however, is already in process with the company’s interior designer and Lexington-based EOP Architects .
Jeff Ruby said he is excited about downtown Lexington and the Centrepointe project and especially this particular restaurant, since it presents his first opportunity to design a restaurant “from scratch,” free of the physical limitations often encountered when converting or expanding an existing space. The Lexington project will enable Ruby’s Cincinnati-based company to create a restaurant that will deliver “The Jeff Ruby Experience,” which is all about excellence in food, atmosphere, service and ambience.
“We believe by designing this space from scratch we will create a steakhouse destination that will be our very best restaurant,“ said Ruby.
Ruby learned about food and restaurants as a child from his mother and stepfather while growing up on the Jersey shore. After high school and college (graduating from Cornell University) Jeff took a position with the Holiday Inn organization in Cincinnati in 1970 and over time developed a track record of success in the bar and restaurant sector. That renown enabled him to develop the confidence of important celebrity investors who backed him during one of the worst economic downturns in a generation when in 1981 to open The Precinct, located in former Cincinnati Police Patrol House No.6. Rated one of the top steakhouses in the United States, the restaurant is now the longest continuously operating fine dining establishment in Cincinnati.
Today, Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment (www.jeffruby.com) owns seven eateries in three states. The brands include Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse, The Precinct, Walnut Street Grill, Carlo & Johnny and the ill-fated Jeff Ruby’s Waterfront which closed, at least temporarily in March of 2011, after mooring cables snapped as the Ohio River rose to nearly 4 feet above flood stage, sending the restaurant with nearly 100 diners aboard downriver until it lodged near the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge. No one was hurt and Ruby, who over the course of nearly 25-years had more than once seen his place slammed by runaway barges, was left doubting he would ever return to the floating restaurant business.
Ruby’s entry into the Lexington market will no doubt raise the competitive bar in the city’s higher-end dining sector.