Restaurants, Inc.’s origins date all the
way back to 1985 when the original partners, Gayle Carstens and Michael Crowley purchased the franchise rights for the Old
Country Buffet. The buffets still continue to be the workhorses for the company today, serving over 1.2 million guests
per year.
For the next decade they experimented with a variety of franchise and original concepts including Champps
Americana, The Great American Bagel, The Brick Oven Café & Loco’s Mexican Grill.
Then in 1997, feeling
the creative talents of (then-Champps) Chef John Ursick were not reaching their full potential, they brainstormed the idea
of Stokes Grill & Bar. Stokes is a unique southwestern concept. It features a nationally recognized,
award winning wine list with over two hundred selections. After ten years of success at the original location,
they opened a second Stokes location in the heart of Omaha's Old Market in 2007.
After opening the original Stokes,
Gayle moved into uncharted territory. The next opening was the HuHot Mongolian Grill at the beginning of 2001.
The opening of HuHot in Omaha was the first in a chain of franchises that originates out of Missoula, Montana. With
this new booming concept, Gayle brought on two new managing partners, Luke Wilson and Brendan Crowley. After a successful
inaugural year, the Omaha World-Herald featured it as one of Omaha’s ten best restaurants. This success spurred
openings of HuHots in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Kansas.
Optomistic after the success of our
Huhot concept, Gayle took the mongolian grill a step further by opening the Genji Japanese Steakhouse. Genji is
a Teppanyaki-style restaurant with a very interactive dining experience for its guests. Lead by the head chef Jay Kim,
guests enjoy their meals as they are prepared at their table with a show that can range from pyrotechnics to knife juggling.
Genji features an upscale, Japanese atmosphere that is fun for kids and adults alike.
Finally, our most recent concept, The Twisted Fork, opened in May of
2008 in the heart of the Old Market in Omaha. The Twisted Fork offers comfort food with a 'twist'. This
cowboy sheik restaurant is a blend of Texas bravado and southern hospitality with food recipes developed by Stokes Executive
Chef John Ursick and martini recipes developed by world class mix-ologist Martin Janica of Argentina.
With the unofficial corporate motto being “Build
it and they will come”, the success after success story of Restaurants, Inc. continues on……..
