Ruby's Diner is a California-based U.S. chain of

casual dining Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the US, while categor ...

restaurants founded in 1982. The original location was a converted bait shack at the end of the Balboa Pier in

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

. The restaurants are designed with a

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It has been argued that there is a nostalgia cycle in popular culture. Definition The term ...

1940s/1950s atmosphere. As of 2024, most locations are in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, but there are also locations in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, and in

Harry Reid International Airport Harry Reid International Airport , formerly known as McCarran International Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is located south of downtown Las Vega ...

History

The first Ruby's Diner opened on December 7, 1982, in a converted bait shop at the end of the Balboa Pier in

, California. On that day, founders Doug Cavanaugh and Ralph Kosmides worked the grill and the cashier station and earned a total of $63. The restaurant was named after Cavanaugh's mother, and her likeness appears in the logo and other advertising material; a copy of her high school graduation photo is placed next to the register in every location."Ruby Cavanaugh, namesake of Ruby's Diner, dies at 93"
Orange County Register, December 29, 2015 The original Ruby's diner location still stands at the end of Balboa Pier. The restaurant formerly operated further pier locations in

Huntington Beach Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as o ...

, Malibu,

Oceanside Oceanside may refer to: Places United States *Oceanside, California ** Oceanside Transit Center *Oceanside, New York Oceanside is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the southern part of the town of Hempst ...

, and Seal Beach, but these locations have since been closed. In the 2010s, Ruby's experimented with converting some locations, including

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge o ...

, to a

fast casual A fast casual restaurant, found primarily in the United States and Canada, is a restaurant that does not offer full table service, but advertises higher quality food than fast-food restaurants, with fewer frozen or processed ingredients. It is a ...

1960s

Googie Googie architecture ( ) is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Atomic Age and the Space Age. It originated in Southern California from the Streamline Moderne architecture of the 1930s, and was popular in the U ...

theme called "Ruby's Dinette", a change that included ordering at the counter rather than at the table. The experiment was dubbed a failure, and the locations were converted back to the original format. Ruby's filed for bankruptcy in 2018, and a franchisee provided a cash infusion. Cavanaugh and Kosmides were sued in 2021 by a bankruptcy court trustee, who accused the pair of loaning themselves money from Ruby's and using Ruby's personnel while pursuing other business ventures.

Similar restaurants

A similar chain, Holly's Diner, opened in

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

, France, in 2014 and presently has 24 locations throughout France.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.rubys.com 1982 establishments in California Companies based in Irvine, California Hamburger restaurants in the United States Restaurant chains in the United States Restaurant franchises Restaurants established in 1982 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018

History

Similar restaurants

See also

References

External links