Ruby’s Southern Kitchen Pivots To Success Throughout Pandemic

BOWIE, MD — Finding soul food that tastes just like your grandmother’s cooking can be quite the challenge, but Ruby’s Southern Kitchen is up for the task. Their popular fried chicken, candied yams and macaroni and cheese put the local restaurant on the map in Bowie.

Located at 14207 Old Annapolis Road, Ruby’s is open for business Tuesday through Sunday from 12 to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p..m on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Candi Dailey, owner of Ruby’s Southern Kitchen, explained her restaurant is a commemoration of her paternal grandmother, the namesake of Ruby's. After starting her own catering company, Potomac Hospitality Group, Dailey decided to open Ruby’s as a tribute to her family.

“I grew up with her during the summers and my dad in the kitchen at home, so between the two of them and my mom, it was just like very natural for me to be in the kitchen," Dailey said.

Serving the same southern foods she grew up cooking, Dailey opened Ruby’s in November 2018.

Aside from its famous macaroni and cheese, the restaurant's menu includes fried seafood, sweet potato waffles and fried chicken, creole shrimp and grits, peach cobbler, banana pudding and plenty more southern-style meals.

Business started taking off for the local restaurant in fall 2019, but progress was halted when the coronavirus pandemic began in March.

Ruby’s was forced to pivot constantly throughout the pandemic, but adjustments helped the restaurant remain afloat during the difficult times. Dailey's first point of action was moving everything online, allowing customers to make orders virtually instead of gathering inside the restaurant.

“That was huge for us,” she said, “We were able to keep people socially distant and we were also able to get people in and out very quickly; that’s kind of what helped us sustain throughout the year.”

Even now, as the country comes close to a sense of normalcy with COVID-19 cases declining, Ruby’s still practices some of the changes it made during the pandemic like online ordering and a moratorium on indoor seating.

While Ruby's saw quite the success in terms of staying in business, Dailey said her catering company took a "drastic" hit during the pandemic.

The Potomac Hospitality Group offers three different services — catering, food service operations and food service contracts — but it was forced to shut down the catering department because of the pandemic, she said, resulting in the company losing about 70 percent of its revenue.

“It was horrible. Like most in the restaurant industry, it was like being punched," Dailey said. "There was nothing that we could do about it; all we could do was kind of dig in our own pockets."

With a tough year in her rearview mirror, Dailey holds on to hope. She said aims to reopen her catering department this fall, along with a new home for Ruby’s later this year.

Replacing Pier 1 Imports at the Bowie Gateway Center, Ruby’s will be moving to 4410 Mitchellville Road. Dailey said the new location will give Ruby’s an opportunity to fully bounce back from the pandemic with a clean slate.

“I love Ruby’s, and I love what we've done.” Dailey said. "I feel like we can do so much more. I feel like we can do so much better. I'm so excited to move into the new space, because I feel like it's going to give us a chance to tighten up on some loose ends that I feel like we need to work on.”

While preparing to move her restaurant to its new location by the end of the year, Dailey said the past year of operating during the pandemic was a learning experience that will help Ruby’s in the future.

“When I look back, you know, I'm super grateful for this experience, because there were so many lessons, right. It's still so many lessons on what we're doing. And so I'm excited to take what I've learned in those lessons and apply them to what we're doing and what we have coming,” Dailey said.

Along with the new Ruby’s location opening this year, Dailey said her catering company plans to open another restaurant, Brown Butter, next year. The breakfast and brunch spinoff of Ruby’s is set to open in fall 2022.

Customers can expect more great things to come from the Potomac Hospitality Group, Dailey said. Those interested in visiting Ruby’s can visit their website or contact their store at (240)260-3989 or via email at details@rubysbowie.com.