Arnold "Arnie" Morton (1922–2005) was a restaurateur who founded Morton's Restaurant Group/Morton's Steakhouse. He is the father of Peter Morton, owner of Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe; of Michael Morton, head of the N9NE Group, which operates contemporary American steakhouses in Las Vegas, Chicago and Dallas; of Amy Morton owner and operator of now defunct Mirador and the Blue Room, Stephanie Morton, producer- owner of Stephanie Morton Productions which produces still photo shoots all over the globe and David Morton, owner of the Italian restaurant chain Pompei and co-owner of DMK Burger Bar. He is the grandfather of Harry Morton, President and CEO of the Mexican restaurant chain Pink Taco.
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Arnie Morton was born in Chicago and grew up in Hyde Park, Chicago. He graduated from Hyde Park High School and enlisted in the United States Army in World War II. He saw eight months of action and arrived in Normandy, France, just after D-day. After the war, he attended the University of Alabama where he played football for two (2) years.
Arnie Morton's father owned a restaurant on the South Side of Chicago. From the age of 15, Morton bused tables, worked in the kitchen, and performed a wide array of odd jobs at the restaurant. These laid the ground for his work in the 1960s as a founder of the famed Playboy Clubs and Resorts.[1]
Arnie Morton opened his first restaurant, the Walton Walk, between Rush Street and Michigan Avenue in the 1950s. This paved the way for a partnership with Victor Lownes and Hugh Hefner, the founder and editor-in-chief of Playboy Magazine.
Morton was the right-hand man of Hugh Hefner when he launched the Playboy Empire on February 29, 1960.[2] He was largely involved in the opening of the first Playboy Club with Hefner and Lownes in 1960.
He served as Executive Vice President of Playboy Enterprises, where he developed the worldwide chain of Playboy Clubs.[3]
Over the course of 20 years, Morton created Arnie's, a landmark of Chicago's Gold Coast; Zorine's; and Morton's. In 1978, Morton's opened in the basement of a Near North Side high-rise in Chicago. The menu consisted simply of giant potatoes and large steaks. It was slow at the beginning, but gained a boost when Frank Sinatra arrived at the restaurant and became a regular. This original Morton's became the stepping stone for 65 other Morton's locations in the United States, Hongkong, Singapore, and Canada. In the 1970s, other ventures included Arnie's Restaurant and an exclusive Club, Zorine's (discothèque).
Morton met Klaus Fritsch while working alongside Hugh Hefner. Then, Fritsch was food and beverage director of the Playboy Clubs.[4] Morton left Playboy in the early 1970s as did Fritsch to begin a 20 year run of working together.
Morton also developed Chicago's swank East Bank Club and its three restaurants and once teamed with chef Jean Banchet to open an elegant French seafood restaurant, Zorine's Club La Mer.[3] Morton sold his Morton's Steakhouses in 1987.
Morton was married for a short while out of WW2 and had twins- Peter and Pam. Later he met his current wife Zorine at a Playboy party in 1960, and they married in 1961. They had five children. He has a brother, Robert.[5]
Morton died on May 28, 2005, aged 83 at a care home in Deerfield, Illinois. He had Alzheimer's Disease and cancer. In recognition of his significant contributions, a resolution was presented to his family from the House of Representatives of the 94th General Assembly of the State of Illinois "so that his memory may be honored and ever cherished".[6]
Morton is credited as the brains behind the "Taste of Chicago", one of the city's best-loved summer festivals. He got the idea when he went to a similar event in New York in the late 1970s. Thinking that Chicago could do much better, he lined up restaurants to participate and persuaded then Mayor Jane Byrne to block off Michigan Avenue for the first Taste of Chicago on July 4, 1980, planting the seed for this food festival. Of the 100,000 people the organizers expected, more than 250,000 showed up, with food and soda sales grossing $300,000. Since then, the festival has evolved and has been done every year during the Fourth of July celebrations.[7]