Devine Street Ruby Tuesday to be razed. Here’s what’s taking its place

The Ruby Tuesday restaurant on Devine Street, which was abruptly shuttered Dec. 3, will be razed and a new retail center will be built in its place.

Charlotte-based developer The Morgan Cos. and broker The Shopping Center Group plan a three-storefront, 8,250-square-foot retail center at the location at 4600 Devine St. The site is near the intersection of Devine Street and Jackson Boulevard in the Cross Hill neighborhood near Fort Jackson.

The company is negotiating with a national dental office firm and a regional fast food restaurant, said The Morgan Cos. Chief Operating Officer Rich Sutphin. He declined to name the potential tenants.

“And we’re looking for another quick service restaurant or a quick medical facility like a Doctors Care,” he said.

The Ruby Tuesday restaurant, located in the shopping center anchored by a Bi-Lo grocery store and Staples, closed after about two decades in business. The closure was part of an ongoing downsizing for the national fast casual restaurant chain.

It is the second departure of a long-standing restaurant in the Cross Hill area.

Julia’s German Stammitisch, a longtime staple restaurant on Jackson Boulevard, is moving to northeast Columbia. The space at 4341 Jackson Blvd. will be filled by Moctezumas Taqueria, presently located at 506 Beltline Blvd. near Midlands Tech.

The 1.03-acre Ruby Tuesday site is across Devine Street from two other large-scale centers: Cross Hill Market, anchored by Whole Foods, and Rosewood Crossing, which features a Marshalls, Michaels and PetSmart.

“We love this intersection across from Whole Foods and other thriving retail in the market,” said Sutphin, whose company is making its first foray into Columbia. “We think it continues to be an emerging market, and . . . it will continue to gentrify.”

The new retail center is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2019, Sutphin said.

This story was originally published December 26, 2018 at 4:03 PM.