Ruby Tuesday’s closing 95 restaurants nationwide, no word on Cullman location’s fate

Published 10:26 am Monday, August 15, 2016

The Ruby Tuesday’s chain has announced plans to close 95 of its restaurants nationwide, though there has been no announcement in regards to which locations might be affected.

Cullman is home to a Ruby Tuesday location on Alabama Hwy. 157 which has been open for several years. Officials at the local location referred questions to the corporate media relations team. Messages left for them were not returned.

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The decision comes as the Tennessee-based chain is grappling with decreased sales at several “underperforming” locations across the nation. Ruby Tuesday’s operates 724 restaurants in 44 states and 14 countries. The company will look at everything from unit-level analysis of sales, cash flows, site location, marketing position, lease status and other performance metrics to decide which locations will be shuttered. The company already closed 12 locations during the past 12 months.

No timetable has been announced as of yet, but company officials say the closures will occur quickly.

“The decision to close restaurants is a difficult but necessary step as we take aggressive actions to strengthen our organization,” JJ Buettgen, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement. “Performance at each of these locations, despite the loyalty of valued guests and the efforts of our dedicated employees, was not meeting expectations. Full-time and part-time employees impacted by closures will be offered positions in nearby restaurants where possible.”

According to the company’s fourth quarter financial reports, Ruby Tuesday’s fiscal year revenue was down 3.1 percent to $1.1 billion. Same-restaurant sales were down 1.4 percent year to year, while traffic dropped 4.6 percent.

The Ruby Tuesday’s news comes fresh off reports that Logan’s Roadhouse is set to close 18 of its locations nationwide. Cullman’s Logan’s Roadhouse sits just a few hundred yards from the city’s Ruby Tuesday’s. Those affected locations have also yet to be announced.