Sunday, Jan. 6, will be the last day that Seal Beach’s local Ruby’s Diner will be open, according to General Manager Art Haack. He referred all other inquiries to the home office.
The Ruby Restaurant Group, the company that owns the restaurant chain, notified the city on Dec. 10 that they were vacating the restaurant’s iconic spot at the end of the Seal Beach Pier. Late last year, following the expiration of the lease, the city and the company agreed that the space would be rented on a month-to-month basis until a new agreement could be reached. The month-to-month agreement included a 150 percent rent increase, according to a November staff report by Assistant City Manager Sean Crumby.
On Saturday, several tables were surrounded by former employees having a good-bye meal at the restaurant.
One of the diners on Saturday was Yorba Linda resident Jennifer Kuhlman (her married name), who was Miss Seal Beach in 1993. She was eating with her husband early Saturday afternoon. She said she worked in the restaurant for about three years in the early 1990s. “This place has a special place in my heart,” she said.
