From eastvalleytribune.com:
MINNEAPOLIS - Steven Schussler, the brash entrepreneur who founded Rainforest Café, has not had a winning restaurant concept in more than a decade.
But he hasn’t lost his ability to shock, entertain and, ultimately, to raise millions of dollars for his fairytale-like ideas.
This month, RED Development, a major developer of open-air shopping centers, agreed to build Schussler’s themed restaurant concepts in more than 30 locations across the country, in a deal valued at more than $100 million.
Designed to overstimulate the senses, the concepts include a Chinese restaurant with statues from China’s Qing dynasty; a Parisian jazz club with a giant airplane descending from the ceiling; a restaurant with Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and a hot dog stand with more than 3,000 types of mustard.
Now, Schussler is on a roll again. A year ago, he made $7.6 million when he sold 80 percent of his dinosaur-themed restaurant, T-Rex, to Houstonbased Landry’s Restaurants. And ground has broken on two of Schussler’s restaurants — T-Rex and Asian-themed Yak & Yeti — at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
