Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Restaurant |
Genre | Casual dining |
Theme |
|
Founded | December 7, 1982 Newport Beach, California, U.S. |
Founders | Doug Cavanaugh Ralph Kosmides |
Headquarters | Irvine, California, U.S. |
Number of locations | 13 [1] |
Area served | California, Nevada, and New Jersey [1] |
Key people | Doug Cavanaugh, CEO Ralph Kosmides, Chief administrative and development officer |
Parent | Ruby's Hospitality Group IP, LLC |
Website | www |
Ruby's Diner is a California-based U.S. chain of casual dining restaurants founded in 1982. The original location was a converted bait shack at the end of the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach. The restaurants are designed with a retro 1940s/1950s atmosphere. As of 2024, most locations are in Southern California, but there are also locations in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and in Harry Reid International Airport. [1]
The first Ruby's Diner opened on December 7, 1982, in a converted bait shop at the end of the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach, California. On that day, founders Doug Cavanaugh and Ralph Kosmides worked the grill and the cashier station and earned a total of $63. [2] 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. [3] [4]
The original Ruby's diner location still stands at the end of Balboa Pier. The restaurant formerly operated further pier locations in Huntington Beach, Malibu, Oceanside, and Seal Beach, but these locations have since been closed. [5] [6] [7] [8] [1]
In the 2010s, Ruby's experimented with converting some locations, including Costa Mesa, to a fast casual 1960s Googie 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. [9]
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. [10] [11]
A similar chain, Holly's Diner, opened in Tours, France, in 2014 and presently has 24 locations throughout France. [12] [13]
Orange County is a county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, and more populous than 19 American states and Washington, D.C. Although largely suburban, it is the second-most-densely-populated county in the state behind San Francisco County. The county's three most-populous cities are Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvine, each of which has a population exceeding 300,000. Santa Ana is also the county seat. Six cities in Orange County are on the Pacific coast: Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, and San Clemente.
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, United States. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth most populous city in Orange County, the most populous beach city in Orange County, and the seventh most populous city in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Downtown Los Angeles, it is bordered by Bolsa Chica Basin State Marine Conservation Area on the west, the Pacific Ocean on the southwest, by Seal Beach on the northwest, by Westminster on the north, by Fountain Valley on the northeast, by Costa Mesa on the east, and by Newport Beach on the southeast.
Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, with the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County at its center, and Orange County to the southeast. The Los Angeles–Anaheim–Riverside combined statistical area (CSA) covers 33,954 square miles (87,940 km2), making it the largest metropolitan region in the United States by land area. The contiguous urban area is 2,281 square miles (5,910 km2), whereas the remainder mostly consists of mountain and desert areas. With an estimated population of over 18.3 million, it is the second-largest metropolitan area in the country, behind New York, as well as one of the largest megacities in the world.
Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime industries. Today it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws visitors with a waterfront path and easy access from the ferry to the shops and restaurants.
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The Surf Line is a railroad line that runs from San Diego to Orange County along California's Pacific coast. It was so named because much of the line is near the Pacific Ocean, within less than 100 feet (30 m) in some places. It is the second busiest passenger rail corridor in the United States after the Northeast Corridor.
The Balboa Pier is one of two piers in the city of Newport Beach, Orange County, California. The other ocean pier on the Balboa Peninsula is the Newport Pier.
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The Oceanside Pier is a wooden pier in Oceanside, California. It is the longest wooden pier on the western United States coastline at 1,954 feet (596 m).
The Crab Cooker is a popular Southern California restaurant specializing in seafood that is located at 22nd Street and Newport Boulevard in Newport Beach on the Balboa Peninsula. In 1969, Venture Magazine rated it as one of the top two restaurants in the world.
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That's right, Ruby is a real person. She is the mother of Doug Cavanaugh, Ruby's founder and CEO.Broughton, Suzanne. Ruby's Diner Carhop Anaheim on YouTube