Ruby Tuesday — Restaurant in Knoxville

Oct. 28, 2020 7:40 PM. In our effort to support local restaurants, my husband and I dined at the South Knoxville restaurant location. We were a bit uncomfortable when we entered because the area of the restaurant where we were seated was behind the bar area; social distancing was not completely possible or as well set up as in other restaurants. The restaurant had no waiting customers and with 2/3 of the restaurant open, this should not have occurred; we decided to eat anyway. We both ordered the salad bar and my husband ordered an appetizer of mild wings. After the first salad plate I returned to the salad bar and saw a young man in black pants and a tee shirt with no mask at the bar. I realized he was a kitchen staff member restocking the salad bar, standing over food to be served with the salad bar glass raised and no mask on! I immediately returned to our table, told my husband, flagged down our server, and requested to see the manager. A woman who was in a dirty apron, tee shirt sleeves rolled up, no hairnet and mask falling below her nose walked out of the kitchen area. I asked her if masks were mandated and told her the employee restocking the salad bar was not wearing a mask. I imagine that if he wasn't wearing one carrying a tray out of the kitchen and hers was worn improperly, no one else in the kitchen was wearing one. NOT a pleasant or reassuring thought. What other health requirements are not being followed? I informed the manager that I would be reporting the lax mandated mask requirements for restaurant service staff to the Knox County Health Dept. and corporate headquarters as well as placing reviews on Google and Yelp informing other potential diners so that they could make an informed decision about where to eat. I do not frequent establishments where employees and other customers are inconsiderate of the increased hygiene requirements the virus has imposed on every one of us. Failure to conduct something as simple as inspections to ensure that employees follow health department mandated requirements at a restaurant less than 50 miles from the corporate headquarters is inexcusable. I will not EVER eat at Ruby...

Ive been in a few times since moving back home. I have a very distinctive look & so does my Jeep. I couldn't run or hide anywhere in the United States. Plus working past jobs for the Federal Govt. I definitely could never hide. There was a misunderstanding with me & one of the managers. My card didnt work & had to run across the street & get it straightened out. Id even left my girlfriend the and even told the lady running the bar id leave her as collateral jokingly that I would definitely be coming back. I pulled back up right in front of then front door. Girlfriend jumped in & i jumped out to go back in & pay. Soon as I turned to the front door there was a female manager standing way too close in my face. Now look i am the absolute nicest guy ever! Dad is a retired KPD Officer & also worked for the Federal Marshal's downtown. Im kinda of a scary looking guy some say, covered in tattoos & have lifted weights most of my life. Yeah ive been stereotyped many times in my life i get that, it's not right but is what it is. So i turned & this younger lady was right in what id called "my space" to close for my comfort lol... I suffer from PTSD & have Autism. I thank God i didnt react in a bad way. But had that been a different place & time i would have more than likely reacted totally different. Thank God I am home now, in a better place & getting better everyday. Im not writing all of this for anyone to be in trouble but just as a learning tool for people. That say I was "dine & dashing" which we were not! It's not worth any employee to get hurt over $50 or $60 meal. Simple get the license plate of that vehicle which in my case would have been my Jeep that sticks out like a sore thumb & call the police & then id a been picked up in probably 30 seconds down the road at my house where I live with my 80yr old father the retired KPD Officer. It did upset me at first but I hope I didn't do anything to upset anyone working that day. Im sure I will be back in soon because the food is great & it's close to home. Having PTSD & Autism i like having places i can go on a regular basis & close to home... Thank you for the good food & all the staff that has been...

Cannot state enough how much my experience here meant to me. Like, I know it's just a RT's, but my experience still kinda sticks with me. First time going to one of these restaurants, and I'd never been to a larger restaurant like this by myself before- like, ever. To be super honest, I was incredibly nervous about it. I am currently financially unstable due to being a homeless Youth, and was entirely depending on a $25 gift card my mother had given me; and I guess I must have underestimated taxes, because I ended up being $1-2ish short in the end. My server, I believe her name was Melissa (if this is the right location anyway), was incredibly sweet, and honestly, her being nice to me was probably the only thing that kept me from a full-blown panic attack (because I was mortified that I had already eaten part of a meal that I ended up not having the money for, and was super embarrassed and had no idea what to do.) She was amazing enough and comp'd the last few dollars of the meal for me and tried to reassure me everything was fine; unfortunately, I was do embarrassed by my mistake, I immediately packed everything up and went home. Still ended up having a rough night, missing my only bus home and getting lost and not getting back until about 1 in the morning- but honestly, that stuck with me and made everything not feel as bad. Now that I have a job, I absolutely promise to return and pay for what was comp'd and officially tip my server as soon as I get my paycheck.

As for the food- everything was absolutely incredible. They have the BEST mozarella sticks I've ever had in my life- I inhaled all but 3 of them before my entree's had even gotten to me, they were so good. The burger was AMAZING, and the chicken tenders were also incredible. I also really enjoyed the fries. Honestly, for the price, the portions and quality were great, and I'm super glad I went there, as I was able to save enough for breakfast and lunch the next day. I recommend this place, personally- the customer service and food I received definitely made the crazy...