The first UK Ruby Tuesday has successfully launched in St David’s

17th August 2010

St David's, Cardiff was chosen as the first UK location for the American steakhouse which has 900 restaurants in 18 countries. It is the third outlet to open within one week at St David’s, alongside as men’s fashion brand Luke 1977 and Aveda hair and beauty salon Kamigata.

Ruby Tuesday in the Eastside restaurant quarter of St David’s is now trading and brothers Gary and Stephen Mayo are using the model to roll out the American casual dining chain across the country after securing a £5m franchise. 12 members of the Ruby Tuesday team flew in from America to ensure that the Welsh restaurant fitted within the American brand and ethos of the company. This included training chefs and waiting staff as well as making sure that the traditionally large American portion sizes were not cut down.

Stephen Mayo said: “Quite often when chain restaurants are introduced into other countries, their menus are altered and the serving sizes are made smaller. However, part of the provision of Ruby Tuesday coming to the UK was that we offered all 99 items on the impressively big menu and that all portion sizes remained the same which gone down particularly well with our first visitors.

“The American team has given us the support we needed to ensure that our offering was completely right for Ruby Tuesday’s first UK restaurant. They didn’t expect us to be open and serving customers as early as we had but our team has been dedicated to the task at hand and the Americans have been suitably impressed with our successful launch.”

The 200 seat Ruby Tuesday in St David’s includes a licensed bar, open plan kitchen and a central garden bar featuring 48 fresh salad items. The upscale casual dining chain prides itself on the five-star quality of its restaurants, fresh good and hospitality.

The entrepreneurs are looking to open at least five restaurants in the next four years, initially in Wales and the South West, creating 250 jobs. As the doors to the St David’s restaurant opened, the brothers are already considering sites for future restaurants in Swansea, Newport and Bristol. Gary and Stephen Mayo have worked together for 25 years and run the four-star Bryn Meadows Golf, Hotel and Spa. In 2003, they opened the first Subway in Wales on St Mary Street, Cardiff, and now run several stores across the city.

Steven Madeley, centre director for St David’s, said: “Shoppers have been asking about Ruby Tuesday since it was announced earlier this year so we know that its launch has been widely anticipated. The restaurant is the 15th food outlet to open within Eastside and really complements our food offering.

“At St David’s we have strived to provide visitors with new brands to get excited about. With the opening of Kamigata and Luke, we have brought 49 stores which are brand new to Wales and now Ruby Tuesday is a UK first. This serves to fully establish Cardiff on the UK retail map and has transformed the city into one of the country’s top shopping destinations.”

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