Ruby's Claims Some Turf in Surf City

By GREG JOHNSON

May 30, 1996 12 AM PT

Ruby’s, the Newport Beach-based diner chain, will open its latest location--Ruby’s Surf City Diner--at the end of the Huntington Beach Pier on Tuesday. The 150-seat, two-story building will feature--naturally--a surf motif inside. The building is modeled after the Avalon Casino on Catalina Island.

Piers play a major role in Ruby’s strategic plan. Ruby’s president and founder, Doug Cavanaugh, opened his first diner on the Balboa Pier in 1982. Ruby’s plans to open another pier restaurant in Oceanside in late June.

Greg Johnson covers retail businesses and restaurants for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5950 and at greg.johnson@latimes.com.