Ruby Tuesday bankruptcy won’t affect S.D. restaurants
Oct. 7, 2020
Casual-dining chain Ruby Tuesday has filed for bankruptcy protection, but the Sioux Falls restaurant and others in South Dakota are owned by a franchisee, so they’re not in danger of closing.
“We’re not going bankrupt,” said Todd Hoekstra, a partner in the ownership group, Dakota Cuisine Inc. “We’re not closing.”
Dakota Cuisine also owns Ruby Tuesdays in Mitchell, Aberdeen and Rapid City, and other states, Hoekstra said.
The Sioux Falls restaurant at 2425 S. Shirley Ave. underwent a major renovation last year.
According to court documents, Tennessee-based RTI Holding Co. LLC does not plan to reopen 185 of its company-owned and operated locations that have been closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are 236 company-owned locations that are open “albeit under capacity and other restrictions which continue to diminish the debtors’ ability to sustain their operations at such locations.” The performance of those sites will be assessed.
In addition to Dakota Cuisine, nine other franchise groups also own other locations.
“We plan to use this filing to strengthen our business by reducing liabilities and reposition the company to emerge a stronger organization built for the future,” CEO Shawn Lederman said in a news release. “We intend to move through the process as quickly as possible.”
