We hardly eat out much. Especially in the last five years or so. Mainly because we just make much tastier and healthier food at home for much less. So watching some Ruby Tuesday locations close down was entirely uneventful for us.

A long day ago – we might have frequented chain restaurants similar to Ruby Tuesday, as our food choices easily included dishes from the Standard American Diet (SAD). Such as burgers and fries, etc.

A really, really long time ago, we really enjoyed the Houlihan’s chain, especially for their nachos. But something happened as these chains started actually tasting “corporate.” Add in the fact that big brother increasingly began dictating what ingredients to use (i.e., fats), the food quality just went steadily downhill.

Ruby Tuesday Closings

The two Ruby Tuesday locations we noticed were (recently) gone were in Bridgewater, NJ and Hackettstown, NJ (technically Mansfield Township, NJ).

According to the private equity firm NRD Capital, who acquired Ruby Tuesday in 2017, they decided to close locations that were not profitable.

Two other locations along the Route 22 stretch remain open in Union, NJ as well as Phillipsburg, NJ.

This isn’t a sudden thing either. Ruby Tuesday has closed over 400 locations in the past 10 years.

The whole casual dining experience just seems to be dwindling overall. Is it the economy? Or perhaps technology has something to do with it?

Going out to eat was always considered to be a welcome diversion to most people. These days, I reckon people are in a constant state of diversion and no longer need the “sit-down and eat” experience? Who knows.

Maybe more people are like us – and just like being in control of what they eat. But that theory may be weak – as I see a lot of people who are definitely not in control of what they eat. LOL.

So – this isn’t sad to us. Just part of the changing business and social landscape.

About the author

NJroute22

NJroute22 (site admin) is an avid traveler along NJ Route 22 (and almost all of central New Jersey!) Family man, pet lover, and property owner who has a natural curiosity for everything around.