Ruby Tuesday has shut down more than one-third of its restaurants this year as the chain buckles under pandemic pressures and an aging customer base
- As Ruby Tuesday continues to silently shed restaurants, recent activity shows the pandemic may be the death of the iconic restaurant chain.
- Since January 23, Ruby Tuesday has closed 169 locations, leaving a total of 298 restaurants worldwide, according to data provided by AggData.
- The chain has leaned into its salad bar in recent years — a format that's especially incompatible with pandemic-era business, as evidenced by the bankruptcy of salad bar buffet-chains Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes.
- Ruby Tuesday has gone through five CEOs in the last five years, and has been without a CEO for the last two.
The pandemic may be the death of Ruby Tuesday.
The casual dining chain, which received between $5 million and $10 million in paycheck protection program small business loans, keeps on hemorrhaging restaurants — as quietly as possible.
Since January 23, Ruby Tuesday has closed 169 restaurants, according to location data compiled by AggData, and only 298 Ruby Tuesdays still remain open worldwide.
The casual-dining chain was already struggling before the pandemic. But the coronavirus has highlighted concerns about the company's future, as it also copes with an an aging customer base.
Ruby Tuesday did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment on its restaurant closures.
Formerly a bar and grill brand, Ruby Tuesday has since leaned into expanding its buffet-style salad bar — a format that has had trouble attracting younger customers and is particularly ill-equipped to survive the pandemic. As an example, Garden Fresh, the parent company of salad buffet-chains Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes, filed for bankruptcy in May.
Four Ruby Tuesday employees emailed Business Insider to express concern over the chain's decline.
A Missouri-based Ruby Tuesday employee, who requested to remain anonymous for job security reasons, said via telephone that they felt the company had taken a turn for the worse.
"I'm literally embarrassed to tell people I work there," the 16-year Ruby Tuesday employee told Business Insider. "I used to love my job but now, it's just a joke."
The employee said that they'd felt the chain had struggled to regain its footing following the 2008 recession, trying several times to rebrand before failing each time. They were also disheartened by rapid, and often confusing, changes in its executive leadership.
Ruby Tuesday has gone through five CEOs in the last five years: JJ Buettgen, Lane Cardwell, Jim Hyatt, Aziz Hashim, and most recently Ray Blanchette – who left the company in 2018 after just nine months for TGI Friday's. Most set out with the goal of turning the struggling chain around before vacating the position months later.
Currently, Ruby Tuesday still does not have an acting CEO.
The Missouri Ruby Tuesday employee said that they have reluctantly started looking for a new job. "You don't work someplace 16 years without feeling a strong sense of loyalty. But man, that loyalty is quickly being eroded."
Are you a current or former Ruby Tuesday employee? We'd love to hear your story. Please reach out to the reporter at ijiang@businessinsider.com