Oldsmar Ruby Tuesday Closes With No Notice

OLDSMAR, FL — With no notice to the community, the Oldsmar Ruby Tuesday at 3138 Tampa Road suddenly closed its doors to customers this week.

The Oldsmar restaurant is the latest casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.

On Oct. 7, Ruby Tuesday CEO Shawn Lederman announced that the Maryville, Tennessee-based national restaurant chain, founded in 1972, had filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.

According to the bankruptcy filing, Ruby Tuesday's debts were estimated at $56.1 million.

As a result of the bankruptcy filing, the company permanently shuttered 185 of its 421 restaurants and laid off or furloughed 7,000 employees.

Lederman said the bankruptcy filing was due to the "unprecedented impact" of the coronavirus pandemic, adding that the company will use the filing to “strengthen its business by reducing liabilities and emerge a stronger organization built for the future.”

"This announcement does not mean ‘Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday’ but ‘Hello, to a stronger Ruby Tuesday,'" Lederman said.

In November, the parent company, RTI Holdings, was given permission by the courts to sell its assets. And, on Feb. 10, the company submitted a revised bankruptcy plan to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, coinciding with the closing of the Oldsmar Ruby Tuesday.

Patch has requested information on the status of the remaining 32 restaurants in Florida but has received no response.

To date, the restaurant chain has closed the Valrico Ruby Tuesday, the Westfield Brandon Ruby Tuesday, the Tampa Commons Ruby Tuesday on Dale Mabry Highway, the Citrus Park Ruby Tuesday on Gunn Highway, Ruby Tuesday at Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg, Ruby Tuesday in Largo, the University Square Mall Ruby Tuesday and the Ruby Tuesday on Fowler Avenue in Tampa.

This leaves only a handful of Ruby Tuesday restaurants still open in Tampa Bay including a restaurant at 10509 Gibsonton Drive, Riverview; Ruby Tuesday of New Port Richey at 8512 Ridge Road; Ruby Tuesday of Zephyrhills at 7909 Gall Blvd.; Ruby Tuesday of Ellenton; and Ruby Tuesday at Spring Hill.