Ruby Tuesday (restaurant)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ruby Tuesday Inc. | |
 |
|
| Type | Public (NYSE: RI) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1972 |
| Headquarters | Maryville, Tennessee, USA |
| Key people | Samuel E. Beall III, Bob White |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Revenue |  $1.110 billion USD (2005) |
| Operating income | $156.559 million USD (2005) |
| Net income | $102.298 million USD (2005) |
| Employees | 16,300 (2006) |
| Website | www.rubytuesday.com |
- For the Rolling Stones song that the restaurant chain is named after, see Ruby Tuesday (song).
Ruby Tuesday is an American casual dining restaurant chain.
Contents |
[edit] History
The first restaurant was founded in 1972 by five University of Tennessee students[1], and is now headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee[2]. The first location was adjacent to UT's Knoxville campus[3] at the corner of Twentieth Avenue and Kingston Pike (now Twentieth Street and Cumberland Avenue)[citation needed]. The building still stands, but it is now occupied by a Stefano's Pizzeria[4] and a bar called Charlie Peppers, both of which are local institutions in their own right.
In April 1982, Ruby Tuesday became part of the Specialty Restaurant Division of Morrison, Inc. The merger provided the chain with additional financial support to continue its growth.
In March of 1996, the shareholders of Morrison's approved a distribution and divided Morrison Restaurants, Inc. into three separate companies: Ruby Tuesday, Inc. (RTI); Morrison Health Care, Inc., (subsequently purchased by Compass Group); and Morrison's Fresh Cooking, Inc., (now owned by Piccadilly). Ruby Tuesday, Inc. is the successor Company to Morrison Restaurants, Inc.[5] and is now one of America's largest casual dining companies. At the time of the distribution, Ruby Tuesday, Inc. operated many other restaurant brands in addition to their flagship Ruby Tuesday brand, including L&N Seafood, Silver Spoon Cafe, Mozzerella's Cafe, The American Cafe, and Tia's Tex-Mex.
In the summer of 1998, Ruby Tuesday relocated its Restaurant Support Center from Mobile, AL to Maryville, TN, where the company built an on-site training facility, WOW-U™, in addition to a lodging and dining facility, RT Lodge™. These facilities are used daily as a training and development center for the Company's restaurant managers.
In November, 2000, Ruby Tuesday completed the sale of The American Cafe, Silver Spoon, L&N Seafood, and Tia's Tex-Mex restaurants to Specialty Restaurant Group, LLC. This divestiture allowed Ruby Tuesday to concentrate exclusively on the growth and development of its flagship brand.
[edit] Size and expanse of chain
Currently, Ruby Tuesday, Inc. has Company-owned and/or franchise Ruby Tuesday brand restaurants in 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 13 foreign countries. As of February 28, 2006, the Company owned and operated 619 Ruby Tuesday restaurants, while domestic and international franchisees (including Hawaii) operated 200 and 43 restaurants, respectively.[6] The company currently has plans to open between 45 and 50 new locations in 2006. Ruby Tuesday, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol: RI).[7]
[edit] Overview of chain
- Ruby Tuesday is one of three large public companies that dominate the bar-and-grill category of casual dining, a segment that continues to show tremendous growth from consistent demand due to very favorable demographic trends, the capacity for new units, limited new competition, and same-store sales increases.
- The chain is well known for its salad bar.
- Ruby Tuesday's recent tag lines include "Awesome Food, Serious Salad Bar" (early 2000s) and "So Good" (2005). The Company's current tagline as of July 2006 is "Simple Fresh American Dining".
- Ruby Tuesday's veggie burger was named peta2's Best Vegan Meal of 2006.
[edit] Controversy
The chain was in the center of a controversy in 2004, when Misty Watts, a waitress at the Hickory, North Carolina location, was terminated from her job. Watts claimed that she was fired due to her appearance and weight (Watts is 5 feet 5 inches tall, and weighed 240 pounds). A visiting district manager told Watts at the time of her termination that she did not fit the company image. Three days prior to her termination, Watts had been named "employee of the month".[8] Watts spoke out on several talk shows about the incident. The chain subsequently offered to rehire Watts, but she declined the offer.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ "Our History", Ruby Tuesday Website
- ^ Contact Form, Ruby Tuesday Website
- ^ Ruby Tuesday Inc., MarketWatch
- ^ Stefano Pizzeria location
- ^ Ruby Tuesday FAQ, Ruby Tuesday Website
- ^ Ruby Tuesday, Inc., Hoover's Inc.
- ^ [http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=RI NYSE Profile of Ruby Tuesday, Inc. (RI)
- ^ "Fat fight looms larger as weight figures heavily in hiring process" Nation's Restaurant News
