Prince Frederick, MD – Ruby Tuesday won’t be saying “goodbye” just yet, but will be saying “hello” to a new owner in the near future. According to a company press release, Ruby Tuesday Inc. is in the process of undergoing an ownership change. The corporate heads of the restaurant chain are during this by selling its common stock and relinquishing all its debt obligations.
A private equity firm named NRD Capital, which is based in Atlanta GA, will acquire the chain. The estimated total enterprise value is $335 million. Ruby Tuesday Chairman Steve Sadove stated, “NRD Capital has a distinguished track record of achieving and maintaining profitable growth for restaurant concepts and will be an excellent partner to lead Ruby Tuesday going forward.”
Currently, there are slightly less than 600 Ruby Tuesday restaurants in 41 states and 14 foreign countries. In Southern Maryland there are two Ruby Tuesdays—in California and Prince Frederick. The region’s first Ruby Tuesday, which opened in the St. Charles Town Center in Waldorf during the early 1990s, closed last year. The chain closed over 100 restaurants nationwide in 2016 due to drastic revenue losses.
At this time it is not known how the ownership change will affect any of the remaining franchises, including the local sites.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com