Kaiser, Lee,
Eric & Sue Morcus invite you to learn more...

Patriarch Kaiser Morcus has lived the classic American Dream since arriving as a young immigrant from Lebanon in 1956. He evolved into a successful and respected hotelier and restaurateur in Denver and Vail, Colorado, before retiring to the sleepy Coachella Valley in 1990. Quickly bored with golf and longing for a decent restaurant meal, he opened the first Kaiser Grille in Palm Desert in 1992.

Kaiser Morcus is the founder and spirit of Kaiser Restaurant Group,a privately held family restaurant company that has built, owned, and operated multiple restaurant concepts -- from casual through fine dining -- in the Palm Springs desert resorts and Carmel communities. The Group's leaders continue to pursue slow growth with a one meal at a time, "one deal at a time philosophy."

Kaiser's son, Lee Morcus is a co-founding (1992) principal in Kaiser Restaurant Group as well as a co-founding principal and managing member in Morcus Management, LLC. This restaurant services company provides full service strategic planning, restaurant development, operations, management, administration, marketing, financial planning, staff development services to the restaurants within Kaiser Restaurant Group with the potential to provide the services to select outside clients as well.

Lees' life calling in the Hospitality industry led him to a Bachelors of Science, Business Administration Degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of Denver. Growing up in the resort business has prepared Mr. Morcus for his success and understanding of the seasonality of the destination resort business.

Another son, Eric, earned a degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Colorado at a time when new construction was at an all-time low and took a marketing position with a San Diego company, then later as a District Sales Manager with a Fortune 500 Company. He moved his family to the desert in 2005 to help operate the growing number of Kaiser restaurants.
He is Director of Group Services, Event Planning, Sales and Marketing for the company.
Appointments include:
Vice President of the Palm Springs Desert Resorts Restaurant Association
President of the Palm Springs Restaurant Association
Board Member of the Palm Springs Hospitality Association
Volunteer Coach For Palm Desert YMCA

Daughter Sue Morcus Fee was also recruited to the fold in 2005 as Human Resources director, and did a masterful job of handling three thousand job applications when their newest project, Jackalope Ranch, was preparing to open. When Jackalope Ranch opened in 2009, the number of people employed by the Kaiser Restaurant group jumped to 390.


1992 - Founding of the Kaiser Restaurant Group, Palm Desert, California
1992 - Kaiser Grille, Palm Desert, California
1998 - Kaiser Grille, Palm Springs, California
2000 - The Hog's Breath Inn, Carmel, California
2001 - The Chop House, Palm Springs, California
2001 - The Deck Restaurant & Sky Bar, Palm Springs, California
2003 - The Chop House, Palm Desert, California
2004 - The Hog's Breath Inn, La Quinta, California
2004 - The Big Fish Grille & Oyster Bar, Palm Desert, California
2008 - Jackalope Ranch, Indio, California
2011 - Grind Brgr Bar, Palm Springs, California