In sider
RalPH BRennan
Owner/Operator: Red Fish Grill, Ralph’s on the Park and
café NOMA, New Orleans; Heritage Grill and café b, Metairie,
La.; and Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen®, Anaheim, Calif.
Co-owner: Mr. B’s Bistro and Commander’s Palace, New
Orleans; and Brennan’s of Houston
How do you keep your finger on the pulse
of this diverse group of restaurants?
Constant communication up and down
the ladder is critically important. I receive
daily updates from each restaurant and
have a weekly one-on-one meeting with
each general manager. I also eat in the
restaurants almost every day. Listening is
key, and surrounding myself with a smart,
flexible and caring leadership team is
essential for so many reasons.
What philosophy ties the different
venues in The Ralph Brennan Restaurant
Group together?
Our mission is “make people happy and
enjoy the thrill of doing so.” Each restaurant’s
team abides by our core values of guest
satisfaction above all else, continuous
personal and professional growth, giving back
to our community, and honesty and integrity.
What part of your job do you enjoy the
most? Is there a least-favorite part?
I enjoy watching people grow and working
with a diverse team at all levels. I also
enjoy instant feedback from customers
every shift, every day. The worst part is
when someone is not successful, and we
have to part ways.
Your family has been in the restaurant business
for a long time. How do you deal with the
weight of all that history on your shoulders?
It is a challenge, because my dad and aunts
and uncles started with nothing and built
a number of successful restaurants and
a formidable reputation for outstanding
food, service and hospitality. My generation
must maintain that reputation and grow it.
Standing still and accepting the status quo
is not acceptable.
How and why do you decide to open a
new property?
Growth is important, because when the
company expands, it offers our staff new
opportunities. When contemplating a new
opening, I look at the market and find an
underserved or undiscovered niche. The
location is also a dominant factor in our
decision-making. Red Fish Grill is on Bourbon
Street in the New Orleans French Quarter,
Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen® is at the
Disneyland® Resort in Southern California,
Ralph’s on the Park overlooks City Park, one
of the top- 10 public parks in the U.S., and café
NOMA is in the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Each of our restaurants works in isolation and
in tandem with the others in the market.
Continued on page 12
Select NCR Digital
THE NATIONAL CULINARY
REVIEW HAS GONE GREEN,
AND YOU CAN, TOO!
Receive The National Culinary Review
(NCR) digitally by signing up at
www.acfchefs.org/select-ncr-digital.
We’ll send an e-mail to you when
each issue is available.
The digital edition offers:
•;Accessibility;from;PC,;MAC,;iPhone
through your browser
•;Linked;table;of;contents,;articles
and ads
•;Option;to;save;for;offline;reading
•;Keyword;search;of;issues
•;Ability;to;bookmark;pages/articles
•;Sharing;via;e-mail/blog/social-
networking;sites
