OPERATIONS
BOATS, DUCKS AND STEAKS: INSIDE THE BOATHOUSE’S $51M RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE
Created by Steven Schussler, the visionary behind Rainforest Cafe, this high- volume Disney Springs concept is one of the nation’s top-grossing restaurants.
S teven Schussler is a man who understands how to create a dining experience. This is the man who created vividly experiential concepts like the Rainforest Café (dining in the jungle), T-REX (dining with dinosaurs) and Yak & Yeti (dining at the base of Mt. Everest), all concepts he later sold to Landry’s Inc. And then there’s The Boathouse at Disney Springs in Orlando, an incredibly high-volume restaurant Schussler created in partnership Perennially in the top five of Restaurant Business’ Top 100 Inde - pendent Restaurants, The Boathouse sailed to the No. 2 slot on this year’s list, barely being aced out by the high-end concept MILA in Miami. Both restaurants achieved just over $51 million in sales last year, though MILA came out slightly ahead. The glamorous celebrity hotspot, which opened in 2020, has an average check of $188 and served 271,461 meals. The Boathouse, meanwhile, reached that revenue number with an average check of only $51 per person, and the restaurant is 10-years old. About 985,695 meals were served last year at the 440- seat venue, which overlooks a man-made lake. It’s a tourist spot, sure. That’s Schussler’s specialty. But it’s one that is consistently praised for its food and atmosphere by tourists and locals alike. Here, the theatrics that Schussler is known for are toned down a bit (there are no animatronics) to a more classy level of kitsch. with Chicago-based Gibsons Restaurant Group. Here, Schussler exercises his passion for boats. There are boats inside the restaurant (one booth is in a gutted motorboat). Outside are 22 antique wooden boats (“floating works of art”). Guests also buzz past the windows in floating Amphicars that drive right into the water (20-minute rides are $125 for three adults). There is all manner of nautical artwork, photos and aphorisms, like: “There are small ships and there are big ships. But the best ships of all are friendships.”
LISA JENNINGS
LISA.JENNINGS@INFORMA.COM
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RESTAURANT BUSINESS JANUARY 2026
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