Ruby Slated for Fayetteville Restaurant

by Talk Business & Politics ([email protected]) 71 views 

Ruby Tuesday Inc. plans to build a 5,600-SF restaurant on U.S. Highway 62 in Fayetteville.

The 222-seat restaurant will be located on the north side of Highway 62 just west of University Square Shopping Center (previously known as Westgate Shopping Center), which is currently being renovated. The restaurant also will be just south of the proposed site for a new four-story, 94-room Hampton Inn.

A house currently occupies the 1.43-acre lot where the Ruby Tuesday is scheduled to be constructed. The property is owned by Narendra M. Krushiker of Springdale, according to records at the Fayetteville Planning Commission office. Commissioners approved a conditional-use permit on Oct. 14 allowing the builder to have 27 more parking spaces than normally permitted.

Mark Rickett of Rickett Engineering in Little Rock, the project representative, said Ruby Tuesday has a contract to purchase the land, but the deal hadn’t gone through yet.

“The CEO for Ruby Tuesday has to look at the site and approve it,” Rickett said. “As far as I know, he looks at every site they build.”

Samuel Beall III is chairman and CEO of Ruby Tuesday Inc., which is based in Maryville, Tenn.

Builders have a year to present a large-scale development plan to the commission.

The proposed restaurant will be slightly larger than the Ruby Tuesday in Bentonville, which is 4,977 SF. The Fayetteville location will have 52 tables and 20 employees per shift.

John Bruton of Springfield, Mo., is the franchisee for the both the Bentonville and Fayetteville locations. He could not be reached for comment.

As of June 4, Ruby Tuesday owned and operated 397 casual-dining restaurants throughout 25 states and the District of Columbia. The company’s franchisees operated 183 restaurants in the United States and 16 international locations.