Restaurants' departures not coordinated; Drury mulling options for property

When it was announced this week two side-by-side chain restaurants were closing within days of each other, there was immediate speculation the closures were coordinated and the property owner had imminent plans for the site.

Ruby Tuesday, 3069 William St., closed Monday while O'Charley's, 3093 William St., will close Sunday. The restaurants are at the intersection of William Street and Mount Auburn Road, one of the busiest intersections in Cape Girardeau.

When word surfaced in recent days they were shutting down, many people thought they were being evicted and the closures were coordinated. That's not the case, according to Drury Southwest senior vice president and general counsel Herb Wedemeier. DSW owns the property where the restaurants are located and leased the land to the restaurants.

"It's simply incorrect," he told the Missourian. "A lot of what's on social media has been inaccurate."

Wedemeier said both restaurants have been excellent business partners: "They've made great contributions to our community, and we've had a great relationship with them."

Ruby Tuesday is seen Monday at 3069 William St. in Cape Girardeau. The restaurant closed Monday, May 27, 2018.Jay Wolz ~ jwolz@semissourian.com

He noted Ruby Tuesday and O'Charley's had separate lease agreements with DSW and lease renewal discussions were conducted independently.

"I think it's more coincidental than anything else (that the leases were discontinued at about the same time)," Wedemeier said, adding the decisions to end the leases were "amicable."

Moving forward, Wedemeier said DSW is exploring a number of options.

"We're looking hard at what our options are, but there's nothing definite at this time we can talk about," he said. "It's been an outstanding corner for the restaurants, so we're looking at that angle and other possibilities as well."

He said it is yet to be determined whether the Ruby Tuesday and O'Charley's buildings will be demolished or repurposed to meet the needs of future commercial interests at the site. An adjacent parcel owned by DSW, along Mount Auburn Road between O'Charley's and Montgomery Bank, could also be part of any future site development to suit the needs of a new tenant or tenants.

"It would be a shame for that corner to remain empty for very long," Wedemeier said, noting the location is in close proximity to Interstate 55, several hotels, Doctors Park, Saint Francis Medical Center, West Park Mall and numerous other businesses.

"I certainly think we should have some sort of plan later this summer," he said. "We're peddling as fast as we can."

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