NYT Profile: Ruby Tuesday
The New York Times published a profile on Saturday of the unusually tight-lipped Ruby Tuesday chain–which had never invited a reporter to its Mayville, Tenn., headquarters. What makes this article worth reading isn’t that the 37-year-old restaurant company is doing things differently as it struggles to win customers while upgrading itself in a failing economy. Indeed, its managers are being trained to inveigle the troops in the same way as other casual-dining operators: emphasize service, prepare food properly.
It’s that for the first time, in print, anyway, CEO and founder Sandy Beall, a colorful speaker, publicly details the company’s current efforts to boost customer counts. Here’s a small taste:
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“Look at this dish,” says Mr. Beall, pointing to the Thai Phoon shrimp. “The shrimp are 11 cents each. There’s probably 12 shrimp in that dish. So that’s $1.32 in food cost. Plus the lettuce, plus the sauce. That’s about $1.60. You sell it for $8.” |
The piece also includes the backstory of Ruby Tuesday’s founding. Beall, for instance, didn’t come up with the name, the title of a Rolling Stones hit; a fraternity brother did, with Beall admitting he wasn’t very "hip."
Janet Vinci commented:
