March 2005 Edition
Ruby's Is More Than Just A Dream...It's About History And Heritage!
For Doug Cavanaugh, Ruby's Diner was not his first "dream". As Doug retells the story of his "youth" in the summer of 1980, just after he had graduated from USC, he and his girlfriend wanted to get into the restaurant business and came across an ad for a restaurant for sale on Nantucket Island - with nine acres on the water -- for only $400,000. Together with his girlfriend's mother, who was in the restaurant business, they bought the property and Doug (and girlfriend) drove across country in his van and within 45 days, had renovated the restaurant. "It was truly a dream come true - it was a spectacular property right on the ocean. I would go out to the fields every morning and pick the produce, then to the dairy and wharf where I would choose the 'fresh fish for the day'. I served as the prep chef, maitre d', and cleaned up at night." But after a few years, Doug sold his interest and headed back to Newport Beach, his hometown.
Now convinced that the restaurant business was going to be his career, he began looking for another restaurant opportunity (near or on the water, of course), and discovered that the City of Newport Beach had a building on the end of the Balboa pier that was for lease. With his Nantucket experience under his belt, the City agreed to lease the building to Doug as a restaurant, and all Doug needed was the money to finance it. He approached friends and relatives, but it was his junior high buddy, Ralph Kosmides, who chipped in to get the restaurant outfitted and opened.
What was going to be the theme? The name? What stuck out in Doug's mind were the stories that his father, a World War II veteran, had of that era, "...the great times they had with their friends - the camaraderie, pulling together, the local ice cream store and diners. This era always fascinated me. My parents were of the 'greatest generation', and I wanted a restaurant that was the embodiment of this era."
Ruby's Diners, now with 40 restaurants across the United States and growing larger every year, is an authentic replica of those mid-1900s diners that were present in every town in America. Most of them are gone now, but Ruby's retains that air of authenticity with its clean, 1940s' look and feel, with the old Coca Cola signs on the walls...with friendly, outgoing waitresses (and waiters?) dressed in the style of those original diners of yesteryear.
How did you come up with the name, Ruby's? "Well, I wanted to always name the restaurant after my mom, Ruby. But she forbade me." "Not on your life," she told me. "So when it came time to show her the new restaurant, we walked slowly out onto the Balboa pier, and my partner, Ralph, had covered the sign with some canvas. As we got closer, he pulled it down, and 'voila!', there it was - in neon. Ruby's!"
She was shocked of course, but Doug says that mom got over it. "Now, she takes pride in the fact that the restaurant chain is named after her. After all, it fits. She is Ruby and what she and Dad taught me are embodied in this restaurant."
Ruby's, represented by The Eddy Company, typically has two formats - Classic (as found on Balboa Pier) and the newer style, what they call the Deluxe Package, which features more detailing and more upgrades, such as found at their newest Ruby's in Long Beach CA. Fifty-percent of their restaurants are franchised.
"We never forget why people go out to eat...it's the food." We always focus on how the food is served and prepared. We only select the best ingredients, whether it's for fish tacos or burgers and shakes. We feature the brand leaders. But the key to our success is training - we have strong corporate values, always focusing on pleasing our customers."
Doug sees the potential for 1,200 Ruby's across America. "Our future is really unlimited." Today, Doug serves as CEO and Ralph is CFO.
So what happened to the Nantucket restaurant? "Well, we eventually sold it, but should have kept the property. It sold again in 1987 for over $7 million."
Ruby's Diner new location in Long Beach, CA
Update on Craig Outlet Mall locations: Craig Realty Group, a client of The Eddy Company, owns and operates 1.6 million sq. ft. These upscale, highly successful centers are located in Anthem, Phoenix, AZ; Cabazon Outlets, Cabazon, CA; Citadel Outlets, Commerce, CA; Woodburn Outlets, Woodburn, OR, Lake Elsinore Outlets, Lake Elsinore, CA, and Franciacorta Outlet Village, Brescia, Italy. Under development are Sussex Commons, Frankford Township, NJ, and the Plaza at San Clemente, San Clemente, CA.
The Eddy Company updates...Ruby's Diner is looking for new stores in Hawaii and West Coast.... Gelato Paradiso is opening a new store in March across from Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard... New Balance opened a new concept store in November at South Coast Plaza... Dickie Walker's wholesale and retail sales are up substantially during the Xmas holidays.... Sunset Canyon is off to a fast start at its new location in Tucson's La Encantada specialty center....and Just Cavalli latest store in Sunset Plaza is doing extremely well. The Closet expects to open 3-4 new stores in 2005 after a record in 2004.
New San Francisco office - Steve Eddy, vice president, heads our new Northern California office. Give Steve a call for your leasing needs in the Bay Area -- 415-440-1460 .
The Eddy Company is one of America's leading specialty retail leasing consultancies. For information, contact Bill Eddy at our Newport Beach office. Please visit our web site - theeddycompany.com or e-mail: bill@theeddycompany.com .
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