Ruby Thai Kitchen has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Its kiosk in the Dining Terrace food court has been cleared out, and signage has been removed. Ruby Thai Kitchen has been a longtime tenant of the mall, surviving even as many other food court occupants have opened and closed around it. Perhaps Charleys Philly Steaks was simply too much competition.
3 comments:
Tried once and it was terrible. There are a few more in that food court the can join them. It's mostly crap.
It wasn't Charleys Philly Steaks that shuttered Ruby Thai, but an astronomical rent increase. I talked for some time with Ruby's manager before the stalwart Asian place served its last helping of bang-bang chicken on December 28th. Apparently, the mall was raising the rent from $38k a month to $48k, a more than 26% increase, which was simply untenable. The manager told me she would have happily re-signed the lease if the rent had been kept at its current price, but the landlord was adamant. So, a food stall that was in place for fifteen years folded its tent and faded into the gustatory sunset, disappointing profoundly at least two regular customers: my mother and me.
According to the manager of Ruby Thai, they closed because they couldn't afford the new lease, which was more than 25% higher than what they had been paying.
Post a Comment