The shuttered Ruby Tuesday in Brewer owes $2.5 million to its landlord, according to a new lawsuit.
The franchise owner of Brewer’s Ruby Tuesday, located at 5 Walton Drive, was sued Jan. 16 in Penobscot County Superior Court by Massachusetts-based Gillis Realty Trust, which owns the property.
RT New England Franchise LLC had a lease with the trust starting Jan. 25, 2021, according to the lawsuit. There is no registered agent listed for the LLC, but it shares an address for Ruby Tuesday’s corporate headquarters in Maryville, Tennessee.
The franchise owner owes just under $1.7 million in rent, as well as over $921,000 for expenses, the lawsuit said.
The national bar-and-grill chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, saying it owed $62 million to lenders. Later that year, a federal judge allowed a two-month rent payment deferral, about $5.5 million.
Brewer’s Ruby Tuesday permanently closed in late 2025, after being temporarily closed for months. About 185 locations closed during the bankruptcy.
Ruby Tuesday’s legal department and the law firm representing the trust did not respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit may be the biggest over unpaid rent for a single Ruby Tuesday restaurant since the bankruptcy filing. A New York location was sued in 2020 for owing roughly $60,000 in rent but that lawsuit was dismissed.
In Maine, the Brewer Ruby Tuesday is accused of breaching its contract and unjust enrichment, the lawsuit said. It asks a judge to award the roughly $2.5 million the landlord is owed, as well as interest and attorney’s fees.
Maine’s only remaining Ruby Tuesday is in Waterville.