Ruby Tuesday To Close 95 Locations After Declining Fiscal Years In 2015 And 2016

Ruby Tuesday is closing the doors to 95 of its restaurants. According to a statement released by the American fare restaurant, after a low fiscal year financial turnout for 2016, Ruby Tuesday has decided to make some adjustments to “streamline the restaurant, improve financial profitability, and create long-term shareholders through its Fresh Start initiative” for 2017.

In order to achieve this, the company is planning to shut down 95 locations throughout the United States.

“Our fourth quarter was impacted by softness in the casual dining industry and increased promotional activity by our peers. Given that we expect the macro environment to remain challenging for some time, we are taking the necessary steps to change the trajectory of our business,” explained JJ Buettgen, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer.

In an effort to preserve the jobs of staff members whose work location may be closing, Buettgen said the company will offer employees positions in nearby restaurants.

According to the report, total revenue for the company dropped 5.9 percent to $279.3 million in the fourth quarter, and total revenue for the 2016 fiscal declined 3.1 percent to $1.1 billion.

Through the new Fresh Start program Buettgen hopes that more men and women will be more inclined to dine at the restaurant.

“Our Fresh New Menu, Fresh New Garden Bar, and Fresh Experience initiatives will position us to accelerate traffic and will be supported by better in-restaurant execution, refining our media and targeting plans, and incorporating the insights from our Garden Bar and remodel tests into our go forward strategy,” he said. “Through our goal of attracting more women and young families as well as increasing visits from our current Ruby Tuesday guests, we believe we can return to positive same-restaurant sales, expand restaurant level margins, and increase operating profit.”

The company did not reveal specifically which locations will be shutting down as they roll out their new initiative, but closings will start as of September 2016.

There are 724 Ruby Tuesday restaurants throughout the world, 646 of which are corporately owned in 44 states as well as 14 other foreign countries and Guam.