Jimmy Theros founded Rudolphs in 1975. Mr. Theros -already a 25-year veteran of the restaurant business - discovered a marketing niche waiting to be filled. People in the Twin Cities loved barbecue. What he also saw was that most barbecue “joints” were called “joints” for a reason. Why not open up a real barbecue restaurant with a touch of class? The kind of place where everybody could come and enjoy the great tastes of barbecue chicken and ribs.