Monmouth Mall's Ruby Tuesday In Eatontown Now Closed

EATONTOWN, NJ — The Ruby Tuesday in the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown has now permanently closed.

Ruby Tuesday also closed its Tom River location, according to NJ.com.

“After careful consideration, we decided to close the Toms River location in an effort to better position our restaurants for future business,” Jenifer Boyd Harmon, chief marketing officer for Ruby Tuesday, told NJ.com.

The pandemic deeply hurt the already struggling restaurant chain: On Oct. 7 of this year, Ruby Tuesday's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, announced CEO Shawn Lederman.

Beginning in late January 2020, the chain had already closed nearly 150 locations across the country, according to Business Insider. Prior to that, Ruby Tuesday closed 95 stores in 2016 and 50 in 2018, according to FSR magazine.

Casual dining restaurant chains have been decimated by the coronavirus and resulting government shutdowns. Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, said that sales in 2020 were down 60 percent compared to the same period in 2019, CNN reported.

The four remaining Ruby Tuesday locations in New Jersey are in Mount Laurel, Elizabeth, Somerset and one at Newark Liberty International Airport.