Why Dine at the RH Restaurant, From the Brand Formerly Called Restoration Hardware?
In 2016, when it was known as Restoration Hardware Restaurant, the restaurant was owned by an unassuming woman who has been trying to keep the restaurant “from falling into the grave.” “It’s time for a change at the restaurant located in Boca on the South Florida Atlantic coast,” she says.
But even she is facing hurdles. A year ago, she saw the restaurant get closed. “I was in shock when they closed. It was devastating.”
“When I got into this restaurant I was very excited, very optimistic,” says the former owner of the restaurant. “I was looking forward to the future of the business.”
She’s been trying to turn around the business for almost two years. “If I would have been in some other financial position I would’ve never been able to get approval from the board.”
For almost three months, she’s been working to get approval for $5 million in renovations. After that, she expects to reopen as a “restaurant of style.”
Her story
The former owner, J.C. DeLuca, grew up in Brooklyn. Her father was a carpenter and built houses for people in his neighborhood. Her mother was a hairdresser and barber. She spent most of her childhood in New York City.
“My parents bought a restaurant that they called Restoration Hardware. They didn’t have a restaurant location in Largo and they wanted a spot that they could call their own,” she recalls. “They owned, at the time, a number of different businesses. It was a very active and successful family.”
“When I came here as a little child, it was a completely foreign concept to me but I knew that I wanted to be a part of that,” says DeLuca.
She worked in customer service for 13 years for two banks before deciding to retire in order to start her own business.
But before that, she and her husband, Joe,