Ruby’s Speeds Up in Fast Casual
The California full-service chain is making a move into fast casual, and it’s happening this fall.
By Robert Lillegard
The Ruby Restaurant Group is most famous for its full-service concept Ruby’s Diner, but it’s been adapting to new markets since the day its first location opened. Its most recent evolution is set to turn heads in the quick-serve space.
Since its inception, Ruby’s has introduced airport kiosks and carhops, added vegetarian options and lower-fat fries to its menus, and developed a line of frozen sliders for sale at Costco. In 2006, it opened The Beachcomber Café, an upscale concept with seafood, steak, and a full bar. But as the recession hit, the company turned to a new market. According to vice president of operations Scott McIntosh, the burgers will soon be smaller, the prices will be lower, and the service will be faster.
“Ruby’s is branching out into the quick-service world,” McIntosh says. “We’re going to be there, and we’re going be strong.”
This isn’t Ruby’s first foray into quick service. With its pier locations, the concept has had to-go windows from the very beginning and owned the Crystal Cove Shake Shack, a popular quick serve in Newport Beach, California. But founder Doug Cavanaugh saw a good chance to expand further into the quick-service segment, with both a dedicated line of fast-casual restaurants and additional grab-and-go cases at existing units.
“We have a lot of mall employees who are in a very tight time crunch when it comes to lunch,” Cavanaugh says. “People are always looking for something quick and easy.”
Most of the 15 Ruby’s mall locations will be back-fitted with grab-and-go cases, Cavanaugh says. The company is developing adaptations of the restaurant’s Cobb Salad and Chinese Chicken Salad, as well as new sandwiches like ham and cheese on rye and roast turkey with cranberry sauce.
More ambitiously, the company plans to open a series of dedicated fast-casual locations, starting in Orange County this fall. While the concept is still in the development stage, McIntosh says they’ve considered tying in a train theme, playing off the idea of the fast, comfortable Streamliner train.
“We’re working on streamlining our diner into the fast-casual segment,” McIntosh says. “It’s not going to be a fast food price point, but it’s also not going to be full service—it’s going to be something in between.“
The core of that concept is a new burger, which Cavanaugh says should be available in most Ruby’s restaurants within the next 22–37 days. The Ruby’s standard is a one-third pound, $8.95 burger. By making it significantly smaller, McIntosh says, the company will be able to reduce the price to about $6.95 and speed up the service.
“In order to do quick service, it needs to be fast,” McIntosh says. “The actual cook time of a burger is going to be half of what our normal burger is.”
These kinds of strategies are familiar to Greg Powell, the vice president of concept innovation for Denny’s. He’s in charge of Denny’s Fresh Express, a food-court style grab-and-go counter that opened its first location this January, and Denny’s Allnighter, a late-night college outpost that offers walk-up and table service. Both concepts include unique menu items like the Grand Slamwich, a sandwich version of the popular Grand Slam breakfast.
“Your brand sort of brings you to the table,” Powell says. “But our traditional service model is not going to work, so you have to get your operators to think differently.”
We’re going to be there, and we’re going be strong.”
That involves a big shift in priorities. Both Denny’s and Ruby’s were built on a full-service philosophy of smiling waiters, relaxed meals, and the inevitable “Did you save any room for dessert?” The quick-serve environment requires new training materials and a new approach to management.
“In a fast-casual restaurant, you’re far more attuned to efficiency,” Cavanaugh says. “Hot food hot—getting it out fast. The guest is there not to linger. They’re there to get a great meal and get out.”
It can be challenging to shift that focus. Both Powell and Cavanaugh say it’s been important to remember that the new brand is a separate entity, and to give it space to develop on its own.
“A lot of times most of the challenges are internal,” Powell says. “Companies need to take risks with the brand—get something up and running and go play with it. It’s important to break a team off and go do that.”
A new market has its own set of rules, and its not always easy to break in. But for established brands like Ruby’s or Denny’s, the transition can be easier. Taking a new approach to something established can benefit the customer, increase a company’s bottom line, and even be fun.
“We’re excited,” McIntosh says. “If you can do it in full service and you have a great product, I think it makes sense to move into quick service—especially if you’ve already got an established brand. People love Ruby’s.”
Robert Lillegard is a Duluth, Minnesota–based freelance reporter.
