Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday: Tuscaloosa Restaurant Closes Permanently
Another Tuscaloosa restaurant has fallen victim to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as the Ruby Tuesday off McFarland Boulevard near Northport has permanently closed.
Like all the state's restaurants, both the Ruby Tuesday in Cottondale and the location in Tuscaloosa closed for dine-in service in March, following orders from the Alabama Department of Public Health. Now, as establishments are allowed to reopen across the Yellowhammer State, only the Cottondale eatery will return, and the diner across the river will remain shuttered.
Last week, a sign on the door said the location was temporarily closed and Ruby Tuesday's corporate website listed the location on Merchants Walk as closed for now.
As of Tuesday morning, though, the location has been removed from the website entirely and its listed phone number is no longer in service.
An employee at the Cottondale restaurant, which reopened for dine-in service earlier in May, also confirmed Tuesday morning that the Tuscaloosa diner will not reopen.
Although Ruby Tuesday is obviously a chain and not a "local" restaurant, it's tough to see yet another dining option in the area permanently closed because of the pandemic and the economic distress it created.
The chain joins Wilhagan's, 301 Bistro, the Levee and the Downtown Pub on the depressing list of Druid City diners and dives that have permanently closed in the last month.
Let's hope the damage stops here.