Red the Steakhouse might not be a name you immediately recognize.
But if you've ever been in Miami or Cleveland and tried looking up the best steakhouse in
the city, you undoubtedly came across it.
Here's the untold truth of the legendary steakhouse.
Peter Vauthy and Jonathan Bennett were head chefs at the incredibly successful Moxie restaurant
in Cleveland, Ohio when they decided — alongside owner Brad Friedlander — to start their
own steakhouse.
On Christmas Eve 2003, they saw their vision come to fruition, when the original Red the
Steakhouse opened its doors.
The 3,500-square-foot restaurant sat at 3355 Richmond Road in the Cleveland suburb of Beachwood,
Ohio.
According to Vauthy, it didn't much resemble the Red we know today.
The name and dark, red décor stemmed from the partners' memories of old school steakhouses
from the 1950s and 1960s.
This approach gave the place the signature look that set it apart from the glut of other
Midwestern steakhouses.
After finding success in northeastern Ohio, Red soon began to seek other locales.
The list came down to Los Angeles and Miami.
Because Miami was a much shorter flight, the team opted to take its talents from Cleveland
to South Beach, a full three years before LeBron brought that phrase into the lexicon.
But unlike LeBron, Red didn't find instant success.
Vauthy said in an exclusive interview with Mashed:
"The first eight months were a massive, massive struggle.
In Cleveland, we had a rep.
In Miami, nobody cared.
We didn't know you had to stay open on Christmas and New Years.
In Miami, everything closes late.
We absolutely got our butts kicked."
Eventually though, Red finally found its stride, gaining substantial notoriety after the city
hosted the Superbowl in 2010.
These days, the restaurant often lands itself on rosters of Miami's top steak spots in numerous
national publications — even Playboy Magazine.
Part of why Red the Steakhouse became such a runaway hit was because it offered a lot
on its menu besides steaks.
Vauthy told Mashed he believes a steakhouse must constantly be reinventing itself to stay
relevant, and that's why he's loaded his menu with stuff like chicken parm, oversized meatballs,
and his trademark "red lead" sauce.
He said:
"I felt like in Miami, we were missing a little of that Mom's Italian restaurant, where you
can eat big red sauces and just feel like you're at home.
That's why we have veal parm and chicken parm on the menu.
I think we have the best chicken parm out there."
The incomparable menu also includes a hefty lineup of pastas, ranging from the traditional
Bolognese with veal and beef ragout, to lobster fra diavolo with fresh Maine lobster and spicy
marinara sauce.
Of course, Vauthy's not above serving up some classic pizza for the whole family to enjoy
as well.
Another reason Red the Steakhouse has been able to stand out among the glut of contemporary
American steakhouses is its impressive, and sometimes terrifying, menu of crab and lobster.
Vauthy told Mashed:
"You have to cater to vegetarians and pescatarians and people who aren't big steak eaters.
Which means you've gotta up your game on the seafood side."
The Brittney Blue lobsters Red pairs with the Certified Angus Beef prime steaks is a
huge part of why Daily Meal ranked the restaurant's surf and turf as the best in America.
But what's most impressive about Red's seafood menu are the Alaskan king crabs the restaurant
flies in when they're in season.
While delicious on the plate, the crabs are so big they look a little more like alien
invaders when you first see them.
If you're squeamish around exoskeletons, you may want to avert your eyes.
When it comes to the world of high-end steakhouses, one might think that once you've reached the
level of prime beef, you're getting the same stuff everywhere.
But this is not always the case.
Peter Vauthy is a chef ambassador for Certified Angus Beef, an Ohio-based beef brand that
puts its cuts through an extensive, ten-specification checklist before giving it the seal of approval.
Vauthy told Mashed:
"Certified Angus Beef is based in Ohio, and their corporate chef and I worked side by
side there.
So when we opened we went with all CAB prime, that's our thing, that's how we'll get people
in the door."
And get them in Vauthy has, as Red South Beach is now the largest single purchaser of Certified
Angus Beef prime in the world.
It has sold over 100,000 filet mignons, and a whopping half million pounds of steak since
opening its doors.
That figure is thanks in large part to a couple of Red's signature cuts, a 48-oz porterhouse
and the head-turning 96-oz tomahawk.
"We finish each steak with one of our signatures, which is, we have a steak oil here which is
fresh herbs, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and a little bit of canola oil."
By 2016, Red the Steakhouse was riding high, with its second Cleveland outpost in downtown
leading the way.
Bolstered by LeBron James' return to Cleveland and the Cavaliers' ensuing success, Red's
location across from Quicken Loans Arena was doing "great numbers," according to Vauthy.
The Cleveland Indians' 2016 World Series run, and the 2016 Republican National Convention
also helped drive revenue.
But despite that success and solid business in South Beach, the Red Restaurant Group was
unfortunately losing money elsewhere — specifically Moxie, the original Red location in Beechwood,
and two struggling locations in Indianapolis and Pittsburgh they'd established around this
time period.
The group declared bankruptcy in 2018, selling off the downtown Cleveland location to principal
investor Gregg Levy and a collection of partners.
The original location in Beechwood also shut its doors, leaving South Beach in the hands
of Peter Vauthy.
The Indianapolis and Pittsburgh locations were simply shut down for good, as there were
too many steakhouses to contend with in those cities.
In August of 2018, facing imminent bankruptcy from his partners, Peter Vauthy was in a rough
place.
One of his best customers noticed Vauthy struggling and asked if they could meet when the chef
finally had a day off.
The following Sunday afternoon, the pair had a meeting that would ultimately save the restaurant.
Vauthy recalls:
"He comes over and says, 'Do you know what I do?'
He told me he did corporate bankruptcy restructuring.
We talked for an hour, and ultimately we decided we were going to wrestle Red from the group
and repurpose it moving forward."
That regular was Aaron Hammer, who navigated a sea of troubling legal issues and gained
separate ownership of Red South Beach for himself and Peter Vauthy.
They formed a new restaurant group called Bistecca Hospitality, and remain running the
restaurant today.
So, to shore up any confusion, while once upon a time Red the Steakhouse was one company
with locations in four cities, today they are separate.
The Cleveland locations are owned by Gregg Levy and his partners.
Red South Beach is a separate entity, owned by Peter Vauthy and Aaron Hammer.
Levy retains the intellectual property of Red the Steakhouse, but Vauthy is still able
to operate under the Red name.
Vauthy told Mashed:
"We have a great working relationship.
He owns a management company, and he's down here all the time hosting athletes.
So it's good for his brand to have South Beach under his umbrella."
Vauthy jokes that he and Levy were the only two who ended up losing money out of the whole
Red Restaurant Group venture.
But that loss may be very much short term, as in new spaces and under new leadership
Red the Steakhouse looks poised to maintain its place among America's best steakhouses.
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