Ray's Restaurants

What Ray's Restaurants does

Ray's Restaurants is a privately held, multi-location fine dining restaurant group founded in 1984 by Ray Schoenbaum and headquartered in Marietta, Georgia. The company operates three distinct restaurants across the Atlanta metropolitan area — Ray's on The River (a waterfront venue on the Chattahoochee River in Sandy Springs), Ray's in The City (downtown Atlanta), and Ray's at Killer Creek (Alpharetta) — each serving fresh seafood, charbroiled steaks, cocktails, and an extensive wine program. The brand is credited with reinventing Atlanta's fine dining scene and is described in its own materials as an iconic local institution.

The business is a traditional restaurant operator with no proprietary technology platform. Its core "products" are the three physical dining locations plus ancillary services: private dining event bookings (managed through the TripleSEAT platform) and a unified e-gift card program (managed through ToastTab) redeemable across all properties. Customer acquisition is driven by a direct-to-consumer model anchored on physical foot traffic, OpenTable for advance reservations, an organic social presence on Facebook and Instagram, and an email newsletter.

Ray's generates revenue almost entirely through on-premises dining sales (food, beverage, and service charges paid at the point of sale), supplemented by gift card purchases and private event bookings. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and follows a standard fine dining per-cover model. The company employs between 251 and 500 staff across the three locations. After nearly 40 years under founder Ray Schoenbaum, ownership transitioned to a father-and-son team of restaurateurs, with no institutional investors or public-market exposure indicated in the available data.

Name

Ray's Restaurants

Legal name

Ray's Restaurants

Website

https://raysrestaurants.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Ray's Restaurants is a privately held, three-location fine dining restaurant group in the Atlanta metro area, founded in 1984, serving fresh seafood, steaks, cocktails, and wines to upscale diners and private event customers under the direction of a new father-son ownership team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fine Dining Restaurants

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Steakhouses & Seafood Restaurants (THAFACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Chef’s Table & Tasting Menu Restaurants (THAFACAG)

Keywords

• Fine dining restaurants
• Seafood and steaks
• Private dining events
• Restaurant gift cards
• Atlanta waterfront dining

Headquarters

HQ city

Marietta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining Sales: Revenue is generated through on-site dining at three restaurant locations. Customers pay for food, beverages (cocktails, wines), and dining services at the point of sale. This is a traditional restaurant revenue model with per-transaction payments.
2. Gift Card Sales: E-gift cards are sold through ToastTab platform and are redeemable at all Ray's Restaurants locations. Gift cards represent pre-paid future dining services.
3. Private Dining Events: Private dining services are offered for events and parties, generating revenue through dedicated event bookings at each location.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ray's Restaurants operates three fine dining restaurant locations in the Atlanta metropolitan area serving fresh seafood, charbroiled steaks, award-winning cocktails, and fine wines. Founded in 1984 by Ray Schoenbaum with the flagship Ray's on the River on the Chattahoochee River, the group has since added Ray's in The City (downtown Atlanta) and Ray's at Killer Creek (Alpharetta). The group also offers private dining event services at each location and a unified gift card program redeemable across all properties.

Product overview

Ray's Restaurants is a fine dining restaurant group operating three distinct locations in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area: Ray's on the River (waterfront venue on the Chattahoochee River), Ray's in the City (downtown Atlanta), and Ray's at Killer Creek (Alpharetta). Founded in 1984 and credited with reinventing Atlanta's fine dining scene, the restaurants offer fresh seafood, charbroiled steaks, award winning cocktails, and fine wines. The portfolio includes three restaurant location products, private dining services available at all locations, and a unified gift card program redeemable across all properties. The group celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ray's on The River: Waterfront restaurant located on the bank of the Chattahoochee River in Sandy Springs, Georgia.
• Ray's in The City
• Ray's at Killer Creek

Products and services

• Ray's on The River Waterfront fine dining restaurant in Sandy Springs, Georgia, situated on the bank of the Chattahoochee River. The original flagship location of the Ray's brand, opened in 1984, offering fresh seafood, charbroiled steaks, award-winning cocktails, and fine wines. Accepts walk-ins and advance reservations via OpenTable.
• Ray's in The City Downtown Atlanta fine dining restaurant offering fresh seafood, charbroiled steaks, award-winning cocktails, and fine wines. Represents the urban dining experience within the Ray's Restaurants portfolio. Accepts walk-ins and advance reservations via OpenTable.
• Ray's at Killer Creek Suburban Alpharetta fine dining restaurant in the Killer Creek area serving fresh seafood, charbroiled steaks, award-winning cocktails, and fine wines. Accepts walk-ins and advance reservations via OpenTable.
• Private Dining Private dining experiences available at all three Ray's Restaurants locations for events, celebrations, and corporate entertaining. Event inquiries and bookings are handled through the TripleSEAT platform with dedicated private dining pages on each location's website.
• Gift Cards Prepaid gift cards redeemable at all Ray's Restaurants locations. E-Gift Cards are available for purchase through the ToastTab platform, with a separate balance-checking tool also provided via ToastTab.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• OpenTablecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOpenTable provides the online reservation platform for all three Ray's Restaurants locations. Customers can make advance dining reservations at Ray's on the River, Ray's in the City, and Ray's at Killer Creek through the OpenTable website and app.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• The Capital Grille: National upscale steakhouse chain owned by Darden. Competes on dry-aged steaks, wine list, and private dining at a similar price point, but at much larger scale and with broader geographic reach.
• Morton's The Steakhouse: Long-established national upscale steakhouse chain. Comparable on steakhouse heritage (founded 1978), fine-dining experience, and private dining/event business, but operates at much larger scale.
• Pappas Restaurants: Privately held Houston-based restaurant group operating multiple fine dining concepts. Comparable as a private multi-unit operator focused on upscale seafood and steak experiences, though in a different region.
• Eddie V's Prime Seafood: Darden-owned upscale seafood and steak chain with a strong cocktail and wine program. Closest national-chain analog to Ray's seafood-forward menu and fine-dining atmosphere.

Direct peers

• Bones Restaurant: Iconic Atlanta steakhouse under Buckhead Life, specializing in steaks and seafood. Direct competitor for the same affluent Atlanta fine-dining customer, particularly overlapping with Ray's in The City and Ray's at Killer Creek.
• Mastro's Restaurants: Upscale steakhouse and sushi chain known for live music, cocktails, and private dining. Closely comparable on fine dining atmosphere, premium price point, and event-driven revenue mix.
• Bacchanalia: Atlanta fine dining restaurant known for upscale tasting-menu experiences. Comparable on fine dining positioning, price point, and special-occasion customer base within the Atlanta market.
• Buckhead Life Restaurant Group: Atlanta-based, multi-unit fine dining restaurant group operating concepts like Bones, Pricci, and Bacchanalia. Most directly comparable as a multi-location Atlanta fine dining portfolio with similar customer profile and heritage positioning.
• Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse: Upscale steakhouse chain specializing in prime steaks, fresh seafood, and an extensive wine list. Directly comparable menu composition and special-occasion positioning, though at broader geographic scale.
• McCormick & Schmick's Seafood & Steaks: Multi-location seafood and steak fine dining chain. Directly comparable menu mix (fresh seafood plus steaks) and upscale casual-to-fine dining positioning, with similar wine and cocktail programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• Instagraminstagram.com/raysrestaurants

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ray's Restaurants