Steven Schussler is a developer of

theme restaurant A theme restaurant is a type of restaurant that uses theming to attract diners by creating a memorable experience. Theme restaurants have a unifying or dominant subject or concept, and utilize architecture, decor, special effects, and other techn ...

s and the creator of the

Rainforest Cafe Rainforest Cafe is a jungle-themed restaurant chain owned by Landry's, Inc., of Houston. It was founded by Steven Schussler. The first location opened in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, on February 3, 1994. By 1997, the chain co ...

. He has created, built and owns T-Rex Cafe, Yak & Yeti Restaurant, Betty & Joe's, Hot Dog Hall of Fame, Galaxy Drive In, Backfire Barbeque, and JukeBox Saturday Night. Schussler is the author of ''It’s a Jungle in There'', a book chronicling his experience building businesses and providing advice to aspiring entrepreneurs.

It’s A Jungle In There

In 2010 Schussler published ''It's a Jungle in There: Inspiring Lessons, Hard-Won Insights, and Other Acts of Entrepreneurial Daring'', a book intended as inspiration to other entrepreneurs, and donated proceeds to

Smile Network International Smile Network International is an American non-profit, humanitarian organization that specializes in providing free surgeries for impoverished children in developing countries who are born with cleft lip and palate, cleft lips and palates. The org ...

.Gorillas Heading for the IDS
''Downtown Journal'' by Sarah McKenzie, October 5, 2010

Rainforest Cafe

The restaurants are decorated to depict some features of a

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

, including plant growth, mist, waterfalls, animatronic robots of

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

s and insects. Large marine

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

s are common in most restaurants. Automated water sprinklers and synchronized lights set to specific patterns are also featured. A simulated

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...

occurs every thirty minutes, utilizing simulated

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

as well as flashing lights and high-powered subwoofers for lightning and thunder. The restaurants are partitioned into several rooms by means of rain curtains that fall into basins running along the tops of partition walls and booths. The staff of Rainforest Cafe are named in accordance to the "Safari" theme. Servers are called Safari Guides, Hosts/Hostesses are Tour Guides, Retail Sales Associates are Pathfinders, Bartenders are Navigators, Bussers are Safari Assistants and kitchen staff are named Trailblazers. The animatronic figures are manufactured by UCFab International, LLC of

Apopka, Florida Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 55,000 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. ''Apopka'' comes from Seminole word ''Ahapopka'' for "Potato eating ...

, USA. The star ceilings are designed and manufactured by Fiber Optic Systems Inc, located in

Whitehouse Station, New Jersey Whitehouse Station, also spelled White House Station, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Readington Township, in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. At the 2010 United States Census, the CDP's population was ...

. Rainforest Cafe restaurants also have a Retail Village, rainforest themed merchandise is sold.

Gallery

Image:RainforestSign.JPG, A typical sign outside of Rainforest Cafe, this one is located at

Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, it is the l ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Image:Rainforest cafe 1998.jpg, The inside of the Rainforest Cafe at

Disney Springs Disney Springs (previously known as Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village in 1975, Walt Disney World Village in 1977, Disney Village Marketplace in 1989, and Downtown Disney in 1997) is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex at the W ...

in Orlando, Florida. Image:Disney_Animal_Kingdom_Rainforest_Cafe_1.jpg, Rainforest Cafe at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando Florida. Image:Rainforestcafesignoprymills.JPG, Rainforest Cafe sign outside

Opry Mills Opry Mills is a super-regional shopping mall in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The mall was owned by the Mills Corporation and Ryman Hospitality Properties until 2007, when the Mills Corporation was acquired by Simon Property Group. It opened ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

It’s A Jungle In There

Rainforest Cafe

Gallery

References

External links