Ruby's Diner


Ruby's Diner is a restaurant chain aesthetically designed after American diners of the Swing Era. Ruby's Diner serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a menu that includes classic American diner fare of hamburgers, French fries, chili and milkshakes along with soups, salads and sandwiches. As of March 2019, Ruby's Diner operated at a total of 32 locations, including 26 in Southern California, one in Arizona, two in Pennsylvania, one in New Jersey, and two in airports in Houston and Las Vegas.
While the basic decor remains the same for every Ruby's Diner, creative touches are added to many by developing modified themes to fit the local area. For example, the Ruby's AeroDiner in Laguna Hills has a collection of miniature World War II aircraft that "fly" through the restaurant on a track.
The locations that are opening in 2020 are Fort Lauderdale, Pittsburgh, Dallas, and Seattle.

History

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 $63.
Ruby's Diner has locations on the historic Southern California piers of Balboa Pier, Huntington Beach Pier and Oceanside. A former Ruby's Diner at the end of the Seal Beach pier, which was closed in 2013, was destroyed by a fire on May 20, 2016.
In 2013, Ruby's Diner introduced Ruby's Dinette, a 1960s themed fast casual concept, and began opening restaurants under this name and style starting in the Westfield Plaza Bonita shopping mall in National City, California.
On 20 January 2020, Ruby's Diner closed at Suburban Square after nearly 25 years.

Origin of the Ruby girl

Ruby was the mother of founder Doug Cavanaugh. The Ruby girl cheesecake character was derived from a photograph taken of her while cheerleading for Fremont High School in Los Angeles. In recognition of Ruby, every Ruby's Diner location has a picture of Ruby's high school graduation picture near the cash register.