Ruby Tuesday abruptly closes restaurants in NJ

HOWELL — Employees at at least three Ruby Tuesday restaurants across the state found their time with the company come to an abrupt end.

The Howell location closed on Monday with several reports saying that employees only found out they were out of a job when they arrived at work that day. By Wednesday, signage at the Howell location had been covered by a black tarp on the building. A sign along Route 9 also was covered..

Patch reported closures of restaurants Bridgewater and Hackettstown.

"We are sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused you and look forward to serving you in one of our other restaurants soon," the signs at the restaurants said.

The restaurant chain is the latest company to close failing locations.

Last August, the company that owns Applebee's and IHOP announced that it would close between 105 and 135 Applebee's restaurants and between 20 and 25 IHOP locations. Two months later, locations across New Jersey announced they were hiring more than 100 people to staff the restaurants.

The news about the closure in Howell came days after Best Buy announced it would close its Howell Location and Sears announced the closure of more stores in New Jersey.

An email seeking comment from Ruby Tuesday was not returned Wednesday afternoon. A phone number for a media contact on the company's website is no longer in service.

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