Landlord Sues Closed Brewer Ruby Tuesday Franchise for $2.5 Million
Gillis Realty Trust says the shuttered Walton Drive restaurant's franchise owner owes nearly $1.7 million in rent plus $921,000 in expenses.
The Massachusetts trust that owns the building that housed Brewer's former Ruby Tuesday is suing the restaurant's franchise owner for roughly $2.5 million, the Bangor Daily News reported.
Gillis Realty Trust filed the complaint Jan. 16 in Penobscot County Superior Court against RT New England Franchise LLC, which leased the 5 Walton Drive property beginning in January 2021. According to the suit, the tenant owes a little less than $1.7 million in unpaid rent and more than $921,000 in expenses. The trust alleges breach of contract and unjust enrichment and wants the full amount plus interest and legal fees.
The LLC shares an address with Ruby Tuesday's corporate headquarters in Maryville, Tennessee. Neither the chain's legal department nor the trust's lawyers responded to the newspaper's requests for comment.
The Brewer restaurant had been temporarily closed for months before shutting for good in late 2025. The chain entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, reporting $62 million owed to lenders, and about 185 of its restaurants closed during that process.
The newspaper said the case may be the largest unpaid-rent lawsuit tied to a single Ruby Tuesday location since the bankruptcy. A 2020 suit against a New York restaurant over about $60,000 in rent was dismissed.
This story was first reported by Bangor Daily News.
