Ribera Steakhouse
| Ribera Steakhouse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Food type | Steak house |
| City | Gotanda |
| Country | Japan |
| Other locations | Meguro |
Ribera Steakhouse (ステーキハウス リベラ, Stēkihausu Ribera) is a Japanese professional wrestling, boxing and mixed martial arts themed steak house restaurant with two locations. The original is in Gotanda, and there is a second, larger location in Meguro.
History
Chris Jericho credits wrestler Stan Hansen with "discovering" the restaurant in the 1970s.[1] Hansen, however, credits Bruiser Brody with being the first American wrestler to discover the restaurant.[2] In the late 1970s and early 1980s, American professional wrestlers began to frequent the restaurant when they were wrestling in Tokyo.[3] Over time, the owner began to cover the walls with hundreds of pictures of the wrestlers who ate at his restaurant.[3][4] The owner rotates the pictures to correlate with the wrestlers currently touring the country.[1]
The owners of Ribera Steakhouse give out the Ribera Steakhouse Jacket to selected patrons.[3] The jacket is satin and has a bull logo on the breast.[3] Road Warrior Animal popularized wearing the jacket with Zubaz pants.[3][5] By the 2000s, it became a rite of passage for American wrestlers to go to the steakhouse and receive their own jacket.[3][2] Ricky Fuji has said that in English Ribera means, "I'm a wrestler, and I've been to Japan."[1]
A second and bigger location was built in Meguro, and it is run by the original location's owner's son.[3]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Jericho, Chris (2007). A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex. Grand Central Publishing.
- ^ a b Sonny, Julian (2014-07-04). "The Legend Of Ribera: Visiting This Steakhouse In Japan Is A Rite Of Passage For Pro Wrestlers". Elite Daily. Retrieved 2015-04-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g Linder, Zach (2013-08-07). "Wrestling's favorite restaurant: The oral history of Ribera Steakhouse". WWE. Retrieved 2015-04-18.
- ^ Roberts, Jeremy (2009). Rey Mysterio: Behind the Mask. Simon and Schuster. p. 104.
- ^ Melok, Bobby (2011-12-06). "Superstars recall Ribera Steakhouse, bring back Zubaz". WWE. Retrieved 2015-04-18.
External links
35°37′48″N 139°43′43″E / 35.63000°N 139.72861°E
- Ribera Steakhouse at Nortega.com