Old Chicago rebrands to Ruby’s

If you’ve cruised down 1400 North lately, you might have noticed the restaurant Old Chicago bearing a new name: Ruby’s Pizzeria & Grill. 

But fans of the restaurant don’t need to worry. Though it has a new name, nearly everything else about the restaurant will stay the same. 

Thad Willis first opened the Old Chicago in Logan with his brother, Tom, and their partner, Andy Daniels, in 2019. According to Restaurant Business, the parent company of Old Chicago, CraftWorks Holdings, Inc., went bankrupt in 2020, closing down all of its locations. SBJ Hospitality purchased CraftWorks and the restaurants opened back up later that year.  

But when the new parent company started to make changes the owners of the Logan Old Chicago weren’t comfortable with, they decided to go out on their own. 

The restaurant is now called Ruby’s, after the Willis brothers’ mother. Willis said they chose to name the restaurant after her because she was a great hostess and cook and was always in charge of celebrations with families and friends. 

“We thought, ‘What better way to kind of keep that tradition alive?’” Willis said. “Hopefully, people come here to get away from the world, celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, sporting events and get away and have a good time for an hour or two.” 

The menu will stay almost the same, with some proprietary items being taken off and a few being added. Willis said there are plans to add new hamburgers, a new sandwich, a couple of new entrees and specialty pizzas and a steak special on the weekends. 

“Basically, the core menu is the same,” Willis said. “We have changed the recipes a little bit, but just to make them so we can make them homemade and improve on them a little bit.” 

Willis said the reaction from the public has been very positive. Though a few people were concerned the restaurant was changing, he said it’s been “pretty much all thumbs up.”  

Caleb Leavitt, a first-year student at Utah State University, noticed the restaurant had a new name, but he wasn’t too concerned about the change. 

“As long as it’s still good food, I don’t really think it matters,” he said. 

Willis is an alumnus of USU himself, graduating in 1992 with degrees in political science and business. During his time at USU, Willis said he learned how to set goals and apply his professors’ experiences in business to his own life. 

“I learned more from my professors who had more real life experience who, yes, could teach you the textbook but also could give you some real life examples,” Willis said. “That helped so much.” 

Willis said the variety of food options and the restaurant’s close proximity to the campus are reasons the restaurant is popular with students. Many students also work at Ruby’s since it is so close to campus, and they can walk or bike over from their housing.  

If a student had never been to Ruby’s before, Willis said he would describe it to them as a “fun, casual dining experience” that attracts a variety of customers. 

“Today we had a bunch of what you would consider retired people, middle-aged people and some students,” he said, “It’s a garden variety of everybody in Cache Valley, with the fun sports and the atmosphere.” 

-Darcy.Ritchie@usu.edu

Featured photo by: Phil Weber