shown at all locations except ikspiarai type subsidiary industry restaurants founded february 3 1994 minneapolis minnesota founder steven schussler headquarters houston texas united states number of locations 28 restaurants key people steven schussler founder tilman j. fertittachairman president and ceo products pasta seafood salad sandwiches dessert ; merchandise 1 revenue us 108 million 1997 2 net income 12 million 1997 2 parent landry s restaurants website rainforestcafe.com a neon sign welcomes visitors to a rainforest cafe located inside the great lakes crossing shopping complex in auburn hills michigan . rainforest cafe is a themed restaurant chain owned by landry s inc. of houston texas . it was founded by entrepreneur steven schussler . the first location opened in the mall of america in bloomington minnesota on february 3 1994 . by 1997 the chain consisted of six restaurants all in the united states . in 1998 it was planned to build 12 additional restaurants in the united states seven in mexico and five in the uk for a total of 22 restaurants by 2008 . 3 in 2000 the rainforest cafe was bought by landry s restaurants inc. a company specializing in dining hospitality entertainment and gaming based in houston texas . 4 to date the company owns restaurants in the united states canada france the united kingdom the u.a.e. and japan . rainforest cafe focuses on local tourism for a majority of their income . 3 contents 1 themed ambience 1.1 animatronics 2 menu 3 image gallery 4 locations 4.1 american locations 4.2 international locations 4.3 former locations 5 references 6 external links themed ambience edit exterior of rainforest cafe in galveston texas . each rainforest cafe restaurant is designed to depict some features of a tropical rainforest including plant growth ; mist ; waterfalls ; and figures of rainforest animals including elephants frogs gorillas jaguars tigers and tropical birds . most locations also have themed exteriors as well as interiors . the rainforest cafe in disney springs formerly downtown disney orlando is located under a large artificial volcano which erupts during the simulated thunderstorms . others such as the locations in atlantic city ; anaheim ; and niagara falls new york ; have the appearance of ancient jungle ruins namely palenque . mall locations usually have waterfalls and simulated plant growth outside of them visible to those who pass in the mall . nearly all locations have a wishing pond usually with an animatronic crocodile where guests are invited to toss coins aiming for the crocodile s mouth . the restaurants are partitioned into several rooms by means of rain curtains that fall into basins running along the tops of partition walls and booths and aquatic tanks . most locations have two tanks connected but at the walt disney world locations three tanks are connected . one portion of most locations includes a bar located underneath an enormous mushroom . the chain is known for its characteristic bar stools made to resemble the legs of animals designed and sculpted by the artist glenn carter . 5 there is usually a star ceiling in the middle of the restaurant which are designed and manufactured by fiber optic systems inc located in whitehouse station new jersey . 6 the interior of the rainforest cafe in dubai mall dubai . rainforest themed merchandise is sold in the gift shop mostly printed by the atlanta based fashion apparel company boxercraft inc. 7 toys including stuffed toys and action figures of the restaurant mascots are sold as well . rainforest cafe also has a set of mascots called the wild bunch . these characters include cha cha the red eye tree frog ; iggy the iguana ; nile the crocodile ; rio a macaw ; maya the leopard ; tuki the elephant ; bamba the gorilla ; and ozzie the orangutan . these eight characters can be found on children s menus merchandise as well as the company logo which lacks tuki and ozzie though older logos may include ozzie . 7 animatronics edit rainforest cafe at disney s animal kingdom . to enhance the theme some of the animals are animatronic manufactured by russells creative llc of apopka florida formerly ucfab international . 8 nearly all locations have elephants tigers gorillas jaguars snakes and crocodiles . elephants are typically found in a pair consisting of an adult and young animal . these face diners from like most animatronics a raised area from a wall . tigers are a relatively new addition to rainforest cafe and they are normally found in groups of four with a male female and two cubs . the male stands up high on a rock while the female reclines beside it . gorillas are the most numerous of the animatronics and there are typically four or five gorillas in each restaurant . each group usually has a silverback a baby hanging from a tree and others which may shake palm trees . leopards may not be found at every location but they typically are perched on a high ledge or tree with their tail and one forelimb hanging down . snakes are mostly positioned at the entrance of the retail village wrapped around a branch and greeting guests from above . crocodiles are located in a wishing pond or waterfall either outside or just inside the shop where guests are invited to toss coins at them . each location usually has multiple butterflies which have an animatronic flapping mechanism as well.the descriptions of these animatronic animals is not always the case at every location though and will vary slightly to dramatically by individual restaurant 9 menu edit rainforest cafe serves food ranging from seafood beef and chicken to pastas and pizzas . 1 dishes are named in accordance to the rainforest theme including the rainforest burger tribal salmon and amazon fajitas . they may also be named based on wild bunch characters such as the chimi cha cha or bamba s barbecue wrap . rainforest caf generally serves coca cola products as well as icee . on the kids menu there is an option to use a collector s cup for the icee . 10 formerly called the pacific rainbow the cup now has a character head on top . a cup featuring cha cha is available indefinitely however other characters are made for the cups for about a year . all characters have been made so far . the bottom of these cups includes a screw off compartment which houses a free action figure of the wild bunch character which the cup features on top . rainforest caf has a variety of desserts as well . offered are a safari sundae and on the kids menu lava mud which is a pudding with chocolate cookies in it with gummy worms to emulate dirt . the largest and most popular dessert however is the sparkling volcano . a volcano is made of three wedge shaped brownies with vanilla ice cream between them and whipped topping on top drizzled with both chocolate and caramel sauce . volcanoes were once served with a sparkler on top which the diner would blow out however it was replaced by a wooden rod with shiny ornamentation on it . many locations however do insert and light a candle if it is in celebration of a party member s birthday . there is also the tradition of yelling volcano by the wait staff every time a volcano is ordered . 11 image gallery edit rainforest cafe an example of the canopy ceiling including artificial trees and foliage . the sign for rainforest cafe in sawgrass mills fl . rainforest cafe sign outside opry mills mall in nashville . atlas statue and fountain inside the rainforest cafe at fisheran s wharf san francisco . locations edit american locations edit a sign outside of rainforest caf at disney s animal kingdom . exterior of the rainforest cafe located in downtown disney before the renovation which replaced the volcano . anaheim california downtown disney at disneyland resort opened on january 12 2001 lake buena vista florida disney springs opened on august 6 1996 with about 450 seats bay lake florida disney s animal kingdom at walt disney world resort opened on april 22 1998 atlantic city new jersey in the closed trump plaza hotel and casino edison new jersey menlo park mall opened on september 17 1998 bloomington minnesota third floor of mall of america relocated from the first floor opened on january 22 2016 sunrise florida sawgrass mills opened in november 1996 san francisco california fisherman s wharf opened in may 2000 ontario california ontario mills opened in november 14 1996 tempe arizona arizona mills opened on november 20 1997 grapevine texas grapevine mills opened october 30 1997 katy texas katy mills opened in november 1999 galveston texas san antonio texas river walk houston texas the galleria opened in spring 2009 chicago illinois downtown chicago opened on october 2 1997 gurnee illinois gurnee mills opened in june 1996 schaumburg illinois woodfield mall opened in october 1995 auburn hills michigan detroit area great lakes crossing opened on november 12 1998 nashville tennessee opry mills opened on may 12 2000 ; closed in 2010 due to the 2010 tennessee floods ; reopened on march 29 2012 las vegas nevada harmon corner opened on september 2 2015 niagara falls new york sheraton at the falls opened on june 3 2015 international locations edit niagara falls ontario clifton hill opened in may 2001 tokyo japan ikspiari shopping mall near tokyo disney resort opened on july 7 2000 london england piccadilly circus opened on june 24 1997 paris france disneyland paris opened in 1999 dubai u.a.e. the dubai mall opened in 2009 former locations edit burlington massachusetts burlington mall 12 opened in 1999 closed on april 25 2016 las vegas nevada mgm grand las vegas opened on december 18 1997 ; closed in august 2015 13 toronto ontario yorkdale shopping centre opened on june 30 1999 closed in january 2014 . 14 costa mesa california south coast plaza opened june 9 1997 ; closed in 2013 15 aventura florida aventura mall opened on december 14 1997 closed in 2000 . overland park kansas oak park mall opened on february 23 1999 closed on january 6 2009 . 16 kowloon tong hong kong festival walk opened november 24 1998 ; closed in april 2003 norfolk virginia macarthur center opened in june 1999 ; closed in 2001 tysons corner virginia tysons corner center opened in october 1996 closed in 2007 westbury new york the source mall opened in september 1997 ; closed on october 19 2000 west nyack new york palisades center opened on march 19 1998 closed in 2002 . denver colorado cherry creek shopping center opened in summer 1998 ; closed in 2001 towson maryland towson town center opened on march 23 1999 ; closed in 2009 17 toronto ontario scarborough town centre located near old navy opened in february 1999 ; closed on january 7 2001 trafford centre england manchester closed in 2003 burnaby british columbia metropolis at metrotown opened in june 1998 closed in october 2001 . mexico city mexico metropol entertainment central closed in 2012 cancun mexico plaza forum by the sea opened on august 15 1997 closed in fall 2010 . tlalnepantla mexico mundo e opened on december 17 1998 ; closed sometime in the 2000s mexico city mexico centro santa fe closed in 2012 istanbul turkey i stinye park closed in 2010 . farmington connecticut westfarms mall opened in february 2000 ; closed in 2013 18 cairo egypt city stars mall opened in february 2008 closed approximately in 2012 . 12 philadelphia pennsylvania franklin mills mall opened on november 27 1998 ; closed in 2001 19 tukwila washington westfield southcenter opened on june 29 1999 ; closed in january 2016 20 bloomington minnesota first floor of mall of america opened on october 3 1994 with 295 seats also the first location . closed in september 2014