ASHTABULA TOWNSHIP — Salad days for area diners are over.
Ruby Tuesday in the Ashtabula Mall, 3315 N. Ridge E., is closing Monday, taking with it a large salad bar, burgers, platters and 50 full- and part-time jobs.
In the meantime, a the owners of the mall, Cabot Investment Properties of Boston, say they are actively pursuing other restaurants to fill the space.
“We will be as upset as the community, but we’re not sitting still,” said Norm Steinberg of Cabot Investment Properties. “We want to get food back into the mall.”
Joe Pete Sr., chairman of the Ashtabula Township trustees, said it’s frustrating because there’s nothing the trustees can do.
Tough economic times have kept people away as luxuries like dining out become less an option, he said.
“(Ruby Tuesday) is closing all of the company’s low-producing restaurants,” Pete said Thursday.
Steinberg reminds area residents there are still great things going on at the Ashtabula Mall.
“We have a great home and garden show this weekend,” he said. “Look for more events in the near future.”
Many restaurant chains have been hit as hard by the slow economy, but few as hard as Ruby Tuesday, whose same-store sales at company-owned stores fell 10.8 percent in the fourth quarter, according to a USA Today report March 2.
From the early 1980s to the mid-1990s, Ruby Tuesday was part of Morrison's cafeteria group, according to its Web site. Today, its headquarters are based in Maryville, Tenn.
People who have gift certificates may use them at the Ruby Tuesday at 9515 Diamond Center Drive, in Mentor, or at 700 Millcreek Mall, in Erie.
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