In early 1976, shortly after signing a new ten-year lease on the restaurant, a fire ruined the property. Fertel had recently acquired a second property nearby to rent out as party space. Within seven days, she had relocated the restaurant to its new location a few blocks away at 711 Broad Street and re-opened it, expanding to 160 seats in the process. The sales agreement prevented her from using the original name at any other address, so she named the new restaurant Ruth's Chris Steak House. She admitted later to "Fortune Magazine" that "I've always hated the name, but we've always managed to work around it." Political reporter Rosemary James noted that she "would not have missed a Friday before a major election at Ruth's Chris Steak House. That was the place to be if you wanted to get some scoops." Fertel bought two shotgun houses behind the restaurant, remodeled and connected them, and lived there for the rest of her life.