Rich Melman (born 1942) is an American businessman, and the founder and chairman of
Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE) is a restaurant group currently comprising 120 or more restaurants mainly located in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded by Rich Melman and Jerry A. Orzoff in 1971.
History
The first restauran ...
, a privately held restaurant company with more than 100 venues.
["Let Us Now Praise R.J. Grunts: How Rich Melman and his Lettuce Entertain You empire set the scene for Chicago's culinary revolution," '']Chicago Reader
The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...
'', April 14, 2006
In 1971, Melman and Jerry A. Orzoff founded R.J. Grunts in
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. Melman and Orzoff continued their partnership, developing a number of restaurants, until Orzoff died in 1981. Melman continued his philosophy of "partnership" and now has 37 working partners.
Early life
Melman grew up in a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. As a child, he sold ice cream and peanuts at
Chicago beaches
The beaches in Chicago are an extensive network of waterfront recreational areas operated by the Chicago Park District. The Chicago metropolitan waterfront includes parts of the Lake Michigan shores as well as parts of the banks of the Chicag ...
and even sold eggs door to door. He unsuccessfully attended three different colleges.
At 14, he started working for the family restaurant business. After his father rebuffed his inquiries to buy into the partnership, he struck out on his own. Persistence led him to Orzoff, who was the first businessperson to take him seriously.
Lettuce Entertain You
By 1988, Lettuce Entertain You encompassed 27 restaurants and yielded approximately $90 million.
Some of their best-known restaurants include Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak, & Stone Crab,
Ed Debevic's, Wildfire Grill,
Mon Ami Gabi
Mon Ami Gabi is a chain of French bistros in the United States operated by Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. Mon Ami Gabi has five locations, with the original located in Lincoln Park, Chicago.
History
The concept for Mon Ami Gabi was created af ...
, Beatrix and RPM Italian. On January 1, 2000, he passed the title and duties of chief executive to Steve Ottmann.
In 2003, Kevin Brown assumed the CEO role.
The separate consulting business has served
McDonald's Corp.
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger ...
, Chart House and
Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits. In fact, it was instrumental in the development of Popeyes Cajun Kitchen.
Family
He is the father of two sons and a daughter – R.J., Jerrod, and Molly, who all work in the company. His wife is Martha.
References
External links
*
Chicago magazine profile*
Living people
Businesspeople from Chicago
American restaurateurs
20th-century American Jews
1942 births
James Beard Foundation Award winners
21st-century American Jews
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