Casual-dining restaurant leader Ruby Tuesday, Inc. today announced that it is continuing its aggressive growth in the Middle East with the awarding of franchise development rights for restaurants in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
After opening three Ruby Tuesday restaurants in Dubai in the past 12 months, franchisee Bin Hendi Hospitality, LLC plans to open six new restaurants in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The expanded franchise means a total of 18 Ruby Tuesdays are slated for development in the UAE by Bin Hendi. Last year the franchisee added five Emirate territories to its then-current agreement for restaurant openings in Dubai.
There are now six Ruby Tuesday franchisees in the Middle East, with locations in Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Other Ruby Tuesday restaurants are being developed in Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon and Oman by other franchisees.
The Persian Gulf region is one of the fastest growing for casual dining brands, according to Mark Ingram, President of Global PartnerShips, Inc., who heads Ruby Tuesday’s international franchise development efforts. “Abu Dhabi is a very important and exciting part of our expansion in the Middle East, and Bin Hendi Enterprises is a very successful and diversified retail company there,” he said. “We are pleased to continue to partner with Bin Hendi for additional development throughout the Emirates. Adding this final territory to our agreements with Bin Hendi means we will have a single franchisee for the entire UAE.”