Ruby Tuesday closes 4 Long Island locations

Four Ruby Tuesday restaurants on Long Island closed over the weekend; locations in Farmingdale, Commack, Selden and Sayville are already scrubbed from the company’s website.

The move is part of the Tennessee-based company’s downsizing, with nearly 100 restaurants scheduled to close in the next month. Three local locations — Deer Park, Medford and Westbury — will stay open.

An employee at Deer Park confirmed the closings and did not know whether employees from other locations would join remaining staff.

The company’s decision was connected to a 5.9 percent drop in total revenue in the company’s fourth quarter, to $279.3 million, down from $296.8 million at this time last year.

“Our fourth quarter was impacted by softness in the casual dining industry and increased promotional activity by our peers,” CEO of Ruby Tuesday Inc., JJ Buettgen, announced in Thursday’s news release. “Given that we expect the macro environment to remain challenging for some time, we are taking the necessary steps to change the trajectory of the environment.”

Along with the announcement to close underperforming restaurants, the company announced the Fresh Start initiative, a pledge “to improve the food and beverage offering, dining environment and service at its namesake brand through a Fresh New Menu, Fresh New Garden Bar and Fresh Experience,” which will roll out in the coming year in markets across the country.

The company also stated goals to attract more women and young families to the chain, along with more repeat visits from loyal customers.

SEE PHOTOSRecent restaurant closures on LI

On May 31, 2016, the company listed 724 Ruby Tuesday locations, with 646 company-operated and 78 franchises. Today, the website reads, “670 locations and counting.”