Ruby Tuesday, 511 Bush River Road: April 2020 10 comments
After the Dutch Square Theatre closed and the building was razed, Ruby Tuesday built a new store on this site, and ran it until last month. Ruby Tuesday has been having problems and closing locations in recent years in part because the restaurant has no strong identity. You go to Ruby Tuesday for what, exactly? For me it's the salad bar, but if that's not your thing, then its hard to say why you would -- Which is not to say there's anything wrong with the food.
Anyway, this store probably would have held on for a while, perhaps indefinitely, but with the temporary closure for COVID-19 and no money coming in, I guess the balance just tipped the wrong way.
(Hat tip to commenter Homer, et al)
UPDATE 28 February 2022 -- As mentioned in the comments, now Ms. B's:
I presume at some point they will get the Ruby Tuesday sign taken down..
10 Responses to 'Ruby Tuesday, 511 Bush River Road: April 2020'
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Homer
13 May 20 at 9:09 am
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I drove by the Harbison location on 5/6, and the sign indicated that their closing was temporary at that point.
Hearh
13 May 20 at 10:29 am
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Actually, it is because of the salad bar that it is one of my wife's favorite places.
Tom
13 May 20 at 12:35 pm
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The sign at the Harbison location still says temporarily closed so I guess time will tell.
Homer
14 May 20 at 9:16 pm
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They really seem to have gone down hill. Way too many menu changes, and not as many items on the salad bar either. Really used to love Ruby Tuesdays.
Mr. Bill
22 Jun 20 at 1:36 pm
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Ruby Tuesday started losing its way in the mid-2000s when it went from the bar-and-grill concept to trying to be some kind of pretentious chain bistro. Before then, it was one of my favorite places to eat, and the menu had the absolute best veggie burger I've ever found at a chain restaurant. Somewhere around 2004 or 2005 there were little warning signs - the time my meal came with only a handful of fries, and I was told if I wanted more I could request them, sort of like Red Robin. But then the whole concept of the place was re-imagined and it lost all appeal to me. I thought the square plates, the cheese biscuits and the revamped menu (with nothing on it that appealed to me in the least) was all a bit too precious.
I tend to get snakebit with restaurants: I find something I love on the menu, then there's a change at some higher level, and the thing I love is one of the first casualties, often the result of somebody at some level (or worse, a consultant) saying "let's reimagine our concept!" Folks at the corporate level too often don't realize that just when they're getting bored with something, the public is getting comfortable with it, and they don't understand that what's "boredom" to them often means "reliable" to consumers.
Jodie Peeler
23 Jun 20 at 7:31 am
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Jodie Peeler, I agree with you. Many customers miss what was "reliable". I was once in a Ruby Tuesday location that had just changed to the newer style. A server said that they wanted to be "more like an Olive Garden and less like an Applebee's". You don't go to Ruby Tuesday for an Olive Garden feeling.
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Regarding my previous comment, I don't think that Olive Garden qualifies as authentic Italian or fine dining, but I guess it's on the slightly more upscale end of the casual dining chains.
Robin L.
24 Jun 20 at 8:56 pm
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There is a construction fence around this building...I do know there has been a carnival going on in the parking lot between the former Belk and this so perhaps it's to dissuade those folks from doing something or there is something planned for this building (stay tuned)...
Andrew
26 Sep 20 at 11:46 pm
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Folks this building is now home to Ms. B's Cafe & Grill...
Andrew
26 Feb 22 at 8:08 pm
I'll try to run by the Harbison location tomorrow to see if they are permanently closed.