MARYVILLE, TN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ruby Tuesday, Inc. (NYSE: RT) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Altar’d State to sell its Church Street property for $2.8 million. The 40,000 square foot building is located at 150 W. Church Avenue in Maryville, TN. The completion of the transaction is targeted for October 2016, subject to customary closing conditions.
Additionally, Ruby Tuesday has announced plans to consolidate its Restaurant Support Center at its property at 333 E. Broadway Avenue in Maryville, TN by the end of January 2017. This follows the Company’s announcement on August 11, 2016 to close 95 restaurants as part of its asset rationalization plan.
Lane Cardwell, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Consolidating our Restaurant Support Center will streamline our cost infrastructure as we continue to execute against our Fresh Start initiatives. We are confident in our long-term strategies and believe we are positioning Ruby Tuesday to deliver improved operational results over time.”
About Ruby Tuesday, Inc.
Ruby Tuesday, Inc. owns and franchises Ruby Tuesday brand restaurants. As of August 30, 2016, there were 615 Ruby Tuesday restaurants in 42 states, 14 foreign countries, and Guam. Of those restaurants, we owned and operated 547 Ruby Tuesday restaurants and franchised 68 Ruby Tuesday restaurants, comprised of 18 domestic and 50 international restaurants. Our corporate-owned and operated restaurants are concentrated primarily in the Southeast, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest of the United States, which we consider to be our core markets. For more information about Ruby Tuesday, please visit www.rubytuesday.com. Ruby Tuesday, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol: RT).
Forward-looking Information
This press release contains various forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements represent our expectations or beliefs concerning future events, including one or more of the following: future financial performance (including our estimates of changes in same-restaurant sales, average unit volumes, operating margins, expenses, and other items), future capital expenditures, the effect of strategic initiatives (including statements relating to cost savings initiatives and the benefits of our marketing), the opening or closing of restaurants by us or our franchisees, sales of our real estate or purchases of new real estate, future borrowings and repayments of debt, availability of financing on terms attractive to the Company, compliance with financial covenants in our debt instruments, payment of dividends, stock and bond repurchases, restaurant acquisitions and dispositions, and changes in senior management and in the Board of Directors. We caution the reader that a number of important factors and uncertainties could, individually or in the aggregate, cause our actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the following: general economic conditions; changes in promotional, couponing and advertising strategies; changes in our customers’ disposable income; consumer spending trends and habits; increased competition in the restaurant market; laws and regulations, including those affecting labor and employee benefit costs, such as further potential increases in state and federally mandated minimum wages and healthcare reform; the impact of pending litigation; customers’ acceptance of changes in menu items; changes in the availability and cost of capital; potential limitations imposed by debt covenants under our debt instruments; weather conditions in the regions in which Company-owned and franchised restaurants are operated; costs and availability of food and beverage inventory, including supply and delivery shortages or interruptions; significant fluctuations in energy prices; security breaches of our customers’ or employees’ confidential information or personal data or the failure of our information technology and computer systems; our ability to attract and retain qualified managers, franchisees and team members; impact of adoption of new accounting standards; impact of food-borne illnesses resulting from an outbreak at either one of our restaurant concepts or other competing restaurant concepts; effects of actual or threatened future terrorist attacks in the United States; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors included in Part I, Item A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended May 31, 2016.