On August 13 of 2020, Rainforest Cafe Chicago closed its doors forever.
This was the breaking point for one of the most iconic of the themed restaurant chains
from the 90s and early 2000s.
The story behind the rainforest goes far beyond animatronics.
From a bizarre beginning to unexpected alliances, let’s take a look at the rise and fall of
the Rainforest Cafe.
This Jungle themed restaurant chain was founded all the way back in 1994, but where did this
whole concept come from?
The mastermind behind this entire project is Steven Schussler.
After selling basically everything he owned, the former advertising salesman covered his
house in his restaurant pitch.
“Artificial waterfalls tumbled down custom-made rock formations, animatronic crocodiles bobbed
their heads, and speakers piped in the roar of a tropical thunderstorm.”
Schussler used 3,700 extension cords to power the 20 different sound systems, lights, and
fog pumps for this prototype.
Also, animals.
“Forty tropical birds, two 150-pound tortoises, a baboon, an iguana and a bevy of tropical
fish housed in ten 300-gallon fish tanks,” A greenhouse laboratory he had installed on
the roof housed not only a full bar and tables but also real butterflies bred “to determine
how long they would survive and whether they would fall in the food.”
His neighbors guessed he was running either “a temple for devil worship or a bordello.”
And his local power company decided he was growing marijuana, thanks to an outrageous
power bill of $2,000.
It wasn’t long before the Drug Enforcement Agency showed up at his doorstep.
Overall, it took him three years and almost $400,000 to get the house developed to the
point where he felt comfortable showing it to potential investors, it wasn’t easy:
Investors couldn’t see the forest for the trees.
They weren’t visionaries.”
But Schussler was.
Eventually, as Schussler teetered on financial collapse, a gambling magnate named Lyle Berman,
made rich by founding Minneapolis’ Grand Casinos came by Schussler’s homemade jungle.
After a few visits, the idea grew on him, and he took a chance on the concept—investing
$1.2 million and becoming Rainforest Cafe’s first chairman and CEO.
Lucky for Schussler and Berman, their home state already had the perfect place to open
a rainforest-themed restaurant experience—live animals and all.
Bloomington’s Mall of America, which had launched just a few years earlier in 1992,
was the largest shopping mall in the United States.
The Rainforest Cafe opened its doors on February 3, 1994, and within a week, the wait for a
table was as much as three hours.
As the name very clearly suggests, the ‘Rainforest Cafe’ is focused on the theme of Tropical
Rainforests.
One that allows a LOT of room for imagination and innovation.
Each restaurant of the ‘Rainforest Cafe’ varies in its specific features, including
various elements such as waterfalls, mist, and many rainforest animals such as gorillas,
elephants, snakes, leopards, tigers, crocodiles, and tropical birds.
One common theme amongst all the restaurants is a ‘Wishing Pond,’ featuring an animatronic
crocodile.
Guests have to throw coins inside the pond and aim for the crocodile’s claws, teeth,
mouth, and legs, to name a few.
Other recurrent features include Bar Stools that resemble the legs of an animal and a
star ceiling that makes the vibe of the restaurant very dreamy.
Also, every 17 minutes, a storm takes place, in which the restaurant’s lights flicker,
and an animatronic gorilla comes out of nowhere and starts beating itself.
Rainforest Café would be incomplete without its cutting edge ANIMATRONICS!
Some of the animals featured in the Cafes are, in fact, animatronics.
These were manufactured by Russels Creative and have since been one of the key features
of the restaurants.
Most of the animatronics face diners from elevated platform areas against the wall.
In the Disney Springs location, there are lemurs hanging from the trees in the restaurant.
Gorillas are the most numerous of the animatronics.
There are usually four or five gorillas in each restaurant; many locations have a talking
tree named Tracy Tree that entertains shoppers.
In the beginning, the restaurant also had curators who took care of the location’s
array of live animals and facility operators who took care of the location’s collection
of not-so-live animals.
Now, of course, such a big franchise can’t stand on its own forever.
Connections with other companies are needed eventually to climb that good ol’ Corporate
Ladder.
Rainforest Café did exactly the same and partnered with Walt Disney as soon as it got
the opportunity, In the next few years, quite a few Rainforest Cafes would pop up across
the United States, as its stock, which started at $6 a share at its initial public offering
in April of 1995, went from $22 a share in October of the same year to about $50 in June
of 1996, bringing in millions more in capital for further expansion.
By 1999, each location was making over $8 million a year—the most revenue per spot
of any restaurant in the country.
Finally, in 2000, despite Schussler’s pleas, Rainforest Cafe was sold to Landry’s Restaurants
Inc., a company that also owns over 500 restaurants, hotel, casino, and entertainment destinations,
including Bubba Gump Shrimp Company and McCormick & Schmick’s.
They would also eventually buy Schussler’s follow-up theme restaurant concept, T-Rex
Cafe.
Yes, it’s Rainforest Cafe, but with dinosaurs.
After the Landry sale, things changed: menu items, decor, but most importantly, Schussler’s
live birds, which cost each location $100,00 a year, were scrapped.
His original vision had been killed—along with the jobs of many of the animal care specialists
and curators.
Then came the ‘Great Recession of the late 2000s.
Many major companies and industries faced significant financial setbacks throughout
America, and Theme Restaurants also faced this fate.
In fact, the whole dining industry had become very saturated at this point.
The average American just found it harder to eat out at ‘glamorous’ and ‘flashy’
themed restaurants like Rainforest Café.
These restaurants then saw a decline.
Nothing lasts forever, and Rainforest Café was gradually finding it difficult to stand
the test of time.
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has definitely been a big blow.
The lockdowns forced a lot of restaurants to shut down for an extended period of time.
All of this led to a lot of locations ending their leases and closing down the business.
A significant setback indeed.
It wasn’t just COVID, however.
This downfall was inevitable, according to some financial analysts.
COVID didn’t weaken Rainforest Café by itself.
It just exposed its underlying weaknesses, which were there before.
It was clearly struggling, even before the pandemic.
The result?
There are now 21 Rainforest Cafes left around the world, as opposed to over 30, as there
were before.
A gradual decline of this once mammoth franchise...
BUT all is not lost.
Rainforest Café is coming into the spotlight once again, thanks to gen z and TikTok!
Tiktok has been known to be the starting point for many viral trends!
Some of these trends have been centered on the nostalgia of the 90s and the early 2000s.
That’s where Rainforest Café came in!
A symbol of hope and childhood reminiscence for Gen Z folks.
What made the Café memorable to this group of the population was really how over-the-top
and intense it was as a whole.
Those lightning shows and talking trees sure can leave a mark on a kid’s mind.
For some, it might invoke a sense of innocence and excitement.
The overall aesthetic of the Rainforest Café also screamed late 90s and early 2000s; the
Good ol’ days.
It had its ups and downs, but at the end of the day, Rainforest Café does have an exceptional
legacy.
It was undoubtedly a pioneer in the world of Themed Restaurants and ‘Eatertainment.’
And set the tone for many future themed restaurants and cafes!
At its prime, it did garner a lot of success and was a household name throughout America.
However, its fame crosses borders, too and leading to locations around the globe.
The ‘Rainforest Cafe’ is not entirely forgotten yet!
On the contrary, it is remembered by many people.
Maybe this nostalgia will be the saving grace for the café.
Or perhaps it might very well turn out to be like one of those forgotten franchises
like Blockbuster or Showbiz Pizza Place.
Only time will tell.
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to make a comeback!