 Steve F. de Castro, founder and CEO of Big Steaks Management, is a prime example of an individual who is living “The American Dream.” Born near Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Mr. de Castro immigrated with his parents to the United States in the 1960s. At the age of 14, to help support his family, Mr. de Castro secured his first job as a dishwasher in a local restaurant in his adopted hometown, New Orleans, Louisiana. He knew he had found his calling.
Over the next 10 years, Mr. de Castro learned the restaurant business from the bottom up, gaining valuable experience. At age 24 he leveraged his experience and the money he had saved to open his own restaurant. While the restaurant barely lasted a year, his love for the business did not diminish.
Shortly after his restaurant closed, Mr. de Castro met and went to work for a New Orleans entrepreneur, Ruth Fertel, the founder of Ruth’s Chris Steak House. After a brief stint at the Ruth’s Chris Steak House in New Orleans, Ms. Fertel provided Steve with the ultimate challenge of turning around a floundering Ruth’s Chris Steak House location in Washington, DC.
However, Mr. de Castro had one request: if he fulfilled Ruth’s request and resurrected the floundering restaurant, Mr de Castro wished to fulfill his American Dream. Ruth put him to the test. He took over the ailing restaurant, infused it with his management philosophy, and within three years, the restaurant went from worst to best in the country -- both in sales and profitability. Steve’s resurrection of the Ruth’s Chris in Washington, DC was so successful that Ms. Fertel awarded him his own Ruth’s Chris Steak House franchise in 1992.
Today, Mr. de Castro’s Big Steaks Management operates eight Ruth’s Chris Steak House locations across Maryland, New Jersey, and North Carolina, with a ninth location opening in North Carolina in late summer 2009. In Maryland, the company also operates Babalu Grill, Blue Sea Grill, The Crystal Room, and Havana Club – Baltimore City’s only indoor smoking venue.
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