Steven Schussler (born 1955) is an American developer of theme restaurants, best known as the creator of the

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

. 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.

Early life

Schussler grew up in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, New York. His parents divorced when he was a child. Schussler worked a multitude of different jobs before the age of 16, ranging from newspaper delivery to bricklaying to painting. He moved to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

at 18 in order to pursue a career in radio, working as a lineman for

Southern Bell Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company was a Bell Operating Company serving the Southeastern United States of Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It also previously covered the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, M ...

until he could find a position at a radio station. After interviewing failed, he decided to hide in a crate dressed as

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

and have it delivered to a local radio station to surprise the general manager. The stunt worked, and he was hired. After eventually working in executive roles in the television and radio industries, he would move into attractions and restaurants, including working with

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

and Universal Orlando, and founded

in 1994.

Rainforest Cafe

The restaurants are decorated to depict some features of a

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

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

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

s and insects. Large marine

aquarium An aquarium (: 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. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

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 acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...

occurs every thirty minutes, utilizing simulated

rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

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, USA. The star ceilings are designed and manufactured by Fiber Optic Systems Inc, located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. Rainforest Cafe restaurants also have a Retail Village, rainforest themed merchandise is sold.

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

Gallery

Image:RainforestSign.JPG, A typical sign outside of Rainforest Cafe, this one is located at Disney's Animal Kingdom in

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

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

Disney Springs Disney Springs is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando. First opened in 1975 as Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village, it has been expanded and rebra ...

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

Early life

Rainforest Cafe

It’s A Jungle In There

Gallery

References

External links