BOARDMAN Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday: Mall eatery closes

BOARDMAN -- Say goodbye Ruby Tuesday in the Southern Park Mall.
The restaurant company closed its eatery after its business day Tuesday.
The space will be replaced in late summer or early fall by Salvatore's Pizza & amp; Cafe. The Niles-based Salvatore's has four other eateries in the area -- Salvatore's Pizza & amp; Cafe in Howland; Salvatore's Pizza and the Brooklyn Deli, both in the Eastwood Mall in Niles; and Salvatore's Italian Kitchen Express on Boardman-Poland Road.
A Salvatore's spokeswoman said the new restaurant will be the chain's largest, seating 210.
Reason for closing
Richard Johnson, senior vice president of Ruby Tuesday Inc., said the lease on the Boardman location had expired and company executives chose not to renew it based on the site's performance, performance of nearby locations and plans to build another restaurant in Austintown.
The location served the company well over the years, he said, but was performing at a sales volume less than the chain's national average.
Johnson said the closing affected about 40 employees. Those who were performing well were offered jobs at nearby locations, including sites at the Eastwood Mall and in New Castle.
He said there are no plans to close either of those sites and that the company still plans to move ahead with the construction of a free-standing Ruby Tuesday in Austintown.
The new site is slated for the southwest corner of state Route 46 and Mahoning Avenue.
Landmark Commercial Real Estate Services in Austintown owns property surrounding the planned location and sold property for the eatery to the restaurant company.
New philosophy
Mike Camacci, president and broker for Landmark, said a new Ruby Tuesday corporate philosophy is to build free-standing restaurants.
Johnson agreed, adding that the company has nothing against mall restaurants but that it is easier to find free-standing locations.
Around 30 percent of the 600 nationwide Ruby Tuesday restaurants are in malls, Johnson said, and free-standing restaurants do equally as well or better than mall locations.
Camacci said construction workers are scheduled to break ground for the Austintown location Aug. 5. Work is likely to be finished after the first of the year.
Johnson said the restaurant will open in March. He said 75 to 100 corporate-owned and franchise restaurants open annually across the nation.