Ruby Tuesday is an American casual dining restaurant that has locations in the United States and around the world. The establishment prepares and serves high quality food with the goal of providing simple fresh American dining to its customers. The restaurant provides the freshest food in a comfortable and casual setting where guests can relax and enjoy their meal with family and friends. It strives to provide a warm and inviting environment with excellent service for its guests. This makes its customers want to come back so they can enjoy their meal and the overall experience.

The restaurant’s mission is “quality, passion, pride.” The establishment achieves quality through ensuring that the food it serves is made with fresh ingredients. This means using 100% USDA choice of prime ground beef for its burgers. It also means using seasonal vine ripened tomatoes, crisp leaf lettuce, and the freshest vegetables. The restaurant’s passion is achieved through its employees, who display this passion in everything they do, from preparing the meals to greeting its guests and providing excellent service. Pride is achieved through the overall presentation of the restaurant. The restaurant is considered as a home and its customers as family and guests. This deep desire to serve and provide its guests with care and attention has led to its guests leaving with a smile.

History

Ruby Tuesday Inc. was incorporated in the year 1996. The company owns and operates the Ruby Tuesday restaurants. The corporation was formed as a reincorporation of Morrison Restaurants, Inc. Morrison Restaurants, Inc. had its corporate headquarters in Maryville, Tennessee. The idea for the Ruby Tuesday restaurant concept was created by Samuel E. Beall, III in 1972. Back then, a friend of Beall gave him $10,000 to open his own restaurant. Beall acquired another $10,000 and was thus able to open the first restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1972. Within the following ten years, the chain experienced an expansion with the opening of new locations.

However, in April 1982, Beall sold the chain to Morrison Inc. Morrison Inc., which was later renamed Morrison Restaurants Inc., provided the restaurant with the additional financial support that it needed for its expansion. Through this sale, Beall received cash and stock for the restaurant. He also became the president of the company. Over the years, the chain expanded to 300 restaurants in the United States.  On March 9, 1996, Morrison Restaurants, Inc. dissolved into three individual companies: Ruby Tuesday Inc., Morrison Health Care Inc., and Morrison’s Fresh Cooking Inc. Accordingly, Ruby Tuesday Inc. was the legal successor to Morrison Restaurants Inc. The company was then incorporated in Mobile, Alabama.  The establishment went public in 1996.

The establishment started it franchise program in 1997 with one domestic and two international franchised restaurants. In 1998, it started a program called the “franchising partnership program”. By May 2011, the company owned and operated 750 casual dining restaurants throughout the United States. In addition, the company’s traditional franchisees operated 43 domestic and 53 international restaurants. The establishment currently has locations throughout the United States, including for example, in Arizona, Georgia, Florida, New York and California. There are also locations in the following countries: Canada, Chile, Iceland, Kuwait, Guam, Egypt, El Salvador, Honduras, Hong Kong, Panama, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Trinidad, and the United Kingdom.

In 2007, the restaurant began to implement substantial changes to its brand and overall image. The company started to remodel its restaurants by getting rid of its outdated decor and replacing it with a more modern look. Updates also included installation of high-definition televisions and free, accessible Wi-Fi for its guests. The restaurant also revitalized its menu to provide customers with better quality food and drinks. In addition, the company implemented better service techniques for its staff. Today, the establishment focuses more on presenting itself as a family friendly casual restaurant.

Review

The restaurant’s standard hours are from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays; and 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Sundays The hours may vary according to the location. The establishment is generally very clean in most locations. Service is great and the staff is very warm and pleasant. Customers have described the servers as friendly and attentive. The restaurant takes reservations both over the phone and online. It also accepts walk-ins. Generally, there is little or no wait time with reservations or without reservations during most days of the week. There may however, be a little wait time on a Friday or Saturday, especially if it is a busy night.

The restaurant serves both lunch and dinner. Lunch is served from Mondays to Fridays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Dinner is served from 3:00 p.m. to closing time Mondays through Fridays, and all day on Saturdays and Sundays. There is also a kids menu for children who are 10 years old and under. Catering is available upon request and guests can order from the designated catering menu. There are also restaurant specials available. For example, on Tuesday night after 5:00 p.m., guests may receive one free kids entree with each adult entree purchased. Also, the Garden Bar offers lunch combos for under $10 on Mondays to Fridays.

Both the lunch and dinner menus provide a variety of options, which include salads, seafood, chicken, steaks, ribs and chops, burgers and pastas. The entrée prices range from $8 to $20, depending on the dish ordered. The ribs, burgers and steaks burgers are highly recommended. The side items start at $2 to $3 each, and consist of French fries, onion rings, baked potato, fresh green beans and fresh zucchini. Premium sides are available for an additional amount of $1, and include sweet potato fries, baked mac and cheese, loaded baked potato, loaded cheese grits, and fresh grilled asparagus.

Appetizers are available on both the lunch and dinner menus and range from $6 to $13. Some examples of the appetizers include: queso and chips, fire wings, Thai spring rolls, and southern style chicken tenders. Desserts are priced at $3 to $6 and include the New York cheesecake, the blondie, and the ultimate chocolate cake. There are also healthy options for those who are diet conscious, such as the “Smart Eating Choices” and the “Fit and Trim” options. The establishment prides itself with preparing its food with fresh and natural ingredients.  The food in general is considered excellent and customers seem to really enjoy the meals.