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Lettuce Look Back: Highlights of Lettuce Entertain You from 1971 – Today

Cheers to 53 years!

As we honoe more than 53 years in business, let us say thanks to all of our loyal friends and the teams who have made this possible. Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants is a family-owned business, open on earth since June 10, 1971 at 11:31 AM with R.J. Grunts.

 

Lettuce look back on some of the milestone moments throughout our history that made us who we are today!

1971: Rich Melman and Jerry A. Orzoff open their first restaurant, R.J. Grunts. It takes three months to catch on and then becomes one of the hottest restaurants in Chicago. Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, John Candy, Gilda Radner, Joel Grey, Bonnie Hunt, The Pointer Sisters, Peter Max, the Maharishi and Steve Stone and Bobby Douglass are just a few of the famous guests in the 70s. Thanks to Bobby, half of the Bears’ team were also frequent guests.

1972: After one year, Rich and Jerry pay off R.J. Grunts. Jerry talks Rich into retiring and moving to Los Angeles with him. After four months in Los Angeles, Rich is bored with retirement and anxious to get back to Chicago. He never thinks about retirement again.

1973: The second restaurant, Fritz, That’s It, opens in Evanston with Fred Joast as partner.

1974: The Great Gritzbe’s Flying Food Show opens and features a cheese bar and a dessert bar.

1975: Jonathan Livingston Seafood opens. This space would later become the Lettuce corporate offices.

1976: Lawrence of Oregano, a hip Italian restaurant, opens and features entertainment from the talented staff, many of whom were performers. Rich is starting to regret the crazy names they’re using.

1976: Lettuce re-creates The Pump Room. This restaurant teaches Rich the finer points of being a businessman. The Pump Room attracts big stars like Frank Sinatra, Burt Reynolds, Phyllis Diller, Michael J. Fox, Liza Minelli and Cary Grant. Thanks to Irv Kupcinet, one of the most influential columnists in the country, (who held court nightly from the famed Booth One) The Pump Room was always in the paper. The success of The Pump Room establishes Rich as a serious restaurateur.

1979: Bones in Lincolnwood, IL opens. This would later become L. Woods which is still going strong.

1980: Ambria opens with Chef Gabino Sotelino to great reviews and expands Lettuce into fine dining.

1980: Inspired by Summerfest in Milwaukee, Rich Melman, Arnie Morton and others create The Taste of Chicago. Mayor Jane Byrne is a fan of the event and it proves to be a huge success.

1981: Jerry A. Orzoff, Rich’s best friend, mentor and founding partner, suddenly passes away. This loss marks a low point in Rich’s now ten-year restaurant career.

1982: Lettuce expands to Arizona with the opening of Don & Charlie’s in Scottsdale. This was the first Lettuce restaurant outside of Illinois. This restaurant becomes a big baseball hangout with everyone from Willie Mays to Commissioner Bud Selig dining there. In 1984, Lettuce brought Ed Debevic’s to Phoenix.

1984: Lettuce opens Ed Debevic’s in Chicago. The concept later expanded to Beverly Hills and then goes international, opening in Japan.

1985: Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! opens in Lincoln Park, offering the first tapas bar to Chicago. In 2021, sister restaurant, Lil Ba-Ba-Reeba! opens in River North.

1985: With Shaw’s Crab House and its great oyster bar, Lettuce enters into (what was) an untested neighborhood, Chicago’s River North. This neighborhood would later become one of the hottest neighborhoods in Chicago and the home to many other Lettuce restaurants.

1986: Scoozi! becomes known for its fun ambience and excellent fare, as well as the big tomato that hangs over the entrance.

1986: Everest Room with Chef Jean Joho opens in downtown Chicago. During its 35 years in service, the Michelin-starred cuisine gained a world-wide reputation, being recognized by Relais & Châteaux and Les Grandes Tables Du Monde.

1988: Hat Dance, featuring modern Mexican cuisine opens in Chicago.

1989: Lettuce joins forces with Oprah Winfrey to open The Eccentric.

1989: The original Bub City opens on Weed Street with 30,000 square feet of space. The concept would later be brought back in River North in 2012 by R.J., Jerrod and Molly Melman.

1991: The creation of the The Frequent Diner Club Program was a game changer in the restaurant industry, as one of the first loyalty programs of its kind.

1991: Maggiano’s and Corner Bakery open in River North. These concepts were later sold to Brinker International.

1992: Lettuce expands to Minnesota with Tucci Benucch at the Mall of America. Two years later, Twin City Grill opened at the Mall of America.

1993: Lettuce introduces foodlife at Water Tower Place, one of Chicago’s (maybe the country’s) first food hall concepts.

1995: The first Wildfire location opens in Chicago. Today, Wildfire continues to be a popular concept with 7 locations that span 3 states.

The signature Coral Caviar Service from Tru

1999: Another Michelin star is added to the rolodex with the opening of Tru in downtown Chicago.

1999: Vong’s Thai Kitchen opens in partnership with celebrity Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. VTK made its return as a delivery and carryout only pop up concept in 2020.

1999: Lettuce hits the Las Vegas Strip with the opening of Mon Ami Gabi and Eiffel Tower Restaurant.

2000: Lettuce partners with Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami to open the first Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in Chicago. The restaurant now has locations in Las Vegas and Washington D.C.

2000: Lettuce sells Big Bowl to Brinker International (and then buys it back in 2005).

2002: The first restaurant in the D.C. market opens with Mon Ami Gabi in Bethesda, MD.

2003: Kevin Brown is named CEO of Lettuce.

Jerrod, Molly and R.J. Melman at the opening of Hub 51

2008: R.J., Jerrod and Molly Melman open Hub 51, their first restaurant, becoming Lettuce partners.

Dining area of L2O restaurant

Photo credit: Michelle Litvin

2008: L2O opens and earns Three Michelin Stars with renowned Chef Laurent Gras.

2011: Rich Melman wins the James Beard Outstanding Restaurateur Award.

Classic margherita pizza from Stella Barra

2011: M Street Kitchen and Stella Barra Pizzeria open in Los Angeles from Chef Partner Jeff Mahin.

Justin Bieber on stage at Studio Paris

2011: Studio Paris opens and quickly becomes one of Chicago’s hottest nightclubs and celebrity hangouts, playing host to the biggest DJ’s and performers in the world including Kaskade, Tiësto, Justin Bieber, Calvin Harris, Snoop Dogg, Diplo, Chance the Rapper, and more.

Windy City Smokeout stage

2013: Windy City Smokeout –an exciting BBQ and country music festival launches. The Festival features live performances from country music’s biggest names, up-and-coming talent and the best BBQ and craft beer from around the country. The festival is a six-time Academy of Country Music Awards “Festival of the Year” nominee. What started as a small parking lot party is now a 4-day music festival with more than 50,000 attendees outside the United Center.

Bill and Giuliana Rancic standing with R.J, Molly, and Jerrod Melman

Bill Rancic, R.J. Melman, Molly Melman, Jerrod Melman and Giuliana Rancic at the opening of RPM Italian in Chicago

2012: The RPM Restaurants brand is born with the opening of RPM Italian in Chicago, with celebrity couple Bill and Giuliana Rancic as partners. Today, guests can enjoy RPM Italian in Chicago and D.C., RPM Steak, RPM Seafood or book a party at RPM Events.

Summer House at O'Hare Airport

Summer House at O’Hare International Airport

2012: A number of Lettuce brands can now be enjoyed in airports across the country. Lettuce Fly was created with the opening of Big Bowl in 2013 at O’Hare International Airport’s Terminal 5. Today, there are more than a dozen restaurants in 5 airports across the U.S. with more to come.

interior of three dots and a dash

2013: Three Dots and a Dash, a tiki bar in River North, opens. Three Dots has been acknowledged as one of the best bars in the world by The 50 Best Bars, Esquire Magazine and more. Three Dots was also named Chicago’s most Instagrammed restaurant by USA Today.

Dining Room of Beatrix Fulton Market

2013: The first location of Beatrix opens in River North. The neighborhood restaurant and coffeehouse now has three locations in Chicago and one in Oak Brook, IL. It also expanded to include Beatrix Market, a grab-and-go concept that highlights the best of Beatrix and more.

Melman Family outside of RJ Grunts

2014: Lettuce reaches 100 restaurants!

Melman Family at the James Beard Foundation Awards

2015: Rich Melman is awarded the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award. This is also the first year the awards are hosted in Chicago!

View into the Test Kitchen at Lettuce Corporate offices

2015: Lettuce has always been a school for entrepreneurs and Rich Melman’s INTRO, was an entrepreneurial restaurant that mentored up-and-coming chefs with the opportunity to take over the space and make it their own. Notable chefs like Chef CJ Jacobson (who later became a Chef Partner of Ema and Aba), Chef Stephen Gillanders, Chef Jessica Largey, Chef Hisanobu Osaka and others did residencies at INTRO.

Joe's Live in Rosemont

2016: Lettuce opens Joe’s Live in Rosemont, IL, a concert and music venue.

Headshot of RJ Melman

2017: R.J. Melman is named President of Lettuce.

Seaside's Restaurant Football Spread

2017: Lettuce opens Seaside’s, which becomes the organization’s first virtual restaurant. Additional virtual concepts opened in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic including Ben Pao, Vong’s Thai Kitchen, Coastal Soups & Salads and more.

The Dalcy event space

2018: The Dalcy, a 6,000 square foot venue, opens in Chicago’s Fulton Market neighborhood becoming an exciting new private event space.

RPM Sefoood exterior and river view

2019: Lettuce opens RPM Seafood, Pizzeria Portofino and RPM Events overlooking the Chicago River, featuring four floors of outdoor dining space.

Penguin statues in Dining room of Shaw's Crab House

Shedd Aquarium Penguins at Shaw’s Crab House to promote Shedd the Straw restaurant initiative. Photo Credit: Brenna Hernandez

2019: Lettuce becomes the first restaurant group to sign on to the Shedd the Straw initiative with Shedd Aquarium. Lettuce is committed to creating more sustainable practices by working towards eliminating single-use plastics and seeking alternatives when possible and more.

2020: Lettuce is proud to introduce the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program. Lettuce has been bringing people together at our tables since 1971 and we will continue to work to create restaurants and workplaces that feel like communities, where all are welcome.

servers wearing masks with carryout bags

2020: The COVID-19 pandemic forever changes the restaurant industry. When the dining rooms were forced to shut down overnight, the Lettuce team came together creating programs like The Best of Lettuce Delivered, Lettuce Take Care of You and more to ensure we could safely continue to deliver the Lettuce hospitality to our guests. We are forever grateful to all of our guests, and our incredible teams, without whom we would not be able to celebrate our 50th Anniversary.

Aba Austin outdoor patio

2020: The first Lettuce restaurant in Texas opens with Aba in Austin, TX. Look out for Aba’s newest location coming to Bal Harbour Shops in Miami, Florida in 2022. Aba in Miami will be Lettuce’s first Florida venture!

Lettuce 50th anniversary logo

June 10, 2021, 11:31 AM: We are proud to say we have been entertaining guests for 50 years!

RPM Italian Partners at the Las Vegas Opening Party

2022: RPM Italian hits the strip! The modern Italian restaurant expands to Las Vegas with a new location coming soon to West Palm Beach, Fl.

Aba Bal Harbour Interior Dining room

2022: Lettuce lands in Florida! Aba – Miami opens in the Bal Harbour Shops and marks the first Lettuce restaurant in Florida.

The Terrace at Miru

2023: Lettuce Entertain You joins forces with Chicago’s newest luxury hotel, The St. Regis Chicago to open Miru, a Japanese concept offering the best views of Navy Pier, the Chicago River, Lake Michigan and more.

Bub City Sliced Brisket Sandwich

2023: Start your engines! Lettuce Entertain You joins forces with NASCAR as the official food and beverage partner for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race.

Summer House On the Lake

2023: Lettuce does Disney! Summer House on the Lake opens its doors in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Tre dita dining orom

2024: Joining forces with one of the most epic pasta makers in the world, Chef Evan Funke, Lettuce Entertain You and Chef Funke open Tre Dita at The St. Regis Chicago, a Tuscan restaurant that was quickly named one of the most beautiful in the country by People Magazine. 

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