Foodie: Ed Rudisell Is No Rookie

Ed Rudisell doesn’t fit the typical multi-restaurant-mogul mold. He’s not the clean-cut suit who rolls up in a Lexus and barks about food costs and mission statements. In fact, this laid-back and tatted entrepreneur (who drives a Buick) landed in the industry by accident, after getting laid off from a bank job. “When I was 24, I started working for Buffalo Wild Wings. I just needed to pay my rent,” says Rudisell, now 36 and co-owner of two successful local restaurants, Black Market and Siam Square.

He hopes to open his third endeavor, Rook, by the end of the year. “It’ll be our take on the banh mi, integrating flavors from Vietnam, Korea, and Thailand,” says Rudisell of the Fletcher Place sandwich spot. Designer Nikki Sutton dreamed up the look of the 30-seat restaurant inside the sleek Hinge building. And Rudisell plans to source ingredients from local bread and meat vendors like Smoking Goose, which he tapped to create a special pork roll for Rook that mimics the Vietnamese version known as Cha Lua. “Who doesn’t love a kick-ass sandwich?” he asks. 719 Virginia Ave.

>> ED RUDISELL’S FAVORITE THINGS

(1) My pets: “I have a macaw named Padma” (after Padma Lakshmi on Top Chef).
(2) Las Vegas: “The Cosmopolitan is my home away from home.”
(3) Photography: “I studied photojournalism and dreamed I’d be a photo editor. That didn’t pan out. But I do take great vacation photos.”

Photo of Ed Rudisell by Tony Valainis

This article appeared in the November 2012 issue.