Ruth's Chris To Move Sandy Springs Restaurant To Alpharetta

Patch Staff Report

Ruth’s Chris Steak House will move its existing Sandy Springs restaurant to Alpharetta later this year.

Franchisees Jim Brooks, Phil Brooks, Mark Oswald and Nancy Oswald, the largest franchisees of the brand, have purchased the property and building at 11655 Haynes Bridge Road. 

The new location sits between Old Milton Parkway/S.R. 120 and S.R. 400. 

Designed in the tradition of a gracious vineyard estate, the 18,248 square foot restaurant building on Haynes Bridge Road was first built in 2001 by Atlanta’s Fotos family and debuted as Rainwater Restaurant.

Rainwater Restaurant attracted a coveted DiRona (Distinguished Restaurants of North America) award, among other culinary honors. 

Located in one of metro Atlanta’s most affluent and sought after communities, Ruth’s Chris Alpharetta "will feature a range of dining options for the restaurant’s guests – both for individual dining and for private events," according to its press release. 

The restaurant, which boasts numerous private rooms including a banquet room that will accommodate up to 200 guests, will undergo a total refurbishment prior to reopening as Ruth’s Chris Steak House. 

“This was an opportunity that we simply had to seize,” said co-owner Jim Brooks.   “It has been a wonderful twenty plus years in Sandy Springs, but the Haynes Bridge site offers the ability to be in a distinct trade area from our other three Atlanta restaurants with the bonus of unprecedented event space,” echoed partner Mark Oswald.  

The Brooks and Oswalds, who have Ruth’s Chris restaurants in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee, are known for being vital partners in the communities they serve.  

Franchisee Nancy Oswald serves on the Executive Committee of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau and presided as chair of the ACVB board in the bureau’s 2013 centennial year as well as past chair of the board of the Georgia Restaurant Association. 

Together, the Oswalds were selected as recipients of the 2008 Ruth U. Fertel Award – the highest accolade Ruth’s Hospitality Group bestows and were also honored with a GRACE Lifetime Achievement Award by the Georgia Restaurant Association in 2006.

The restaurant is expected to open sometime in October.