Henderson restaurant closed

Monday, Nov. 5, 2001 | 9:51 a.m.

Rubio's Restaurants Inc., the owner and operator of the Rubio's Baja Grill restaurant chain, closed one of its five Las Vegas-area restaurants.

The closed restaurant was at Eastern Avenue and Horizon Ridge Parkway in Henderson near the fast-growing Anthem community. It was one of 13 restaurants closed in California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Nevada by the Carlsbad, Calif., operator of quick-service Mexican food restaurants.

"There didn't appear to be enough population yet to support the kind of volume we like to see," said Joe Stein, Rubio's chief financial and strategic officer. "The restaurant was ahead of the population out there."

About 15 employees worked at the Henderson restaurant; some were shifted to the four remaining Rubio's in the Las Vegas area.

Stein said the company is happy with the performance of its Las Vegas holdings, but is looking to sell all four to a franchisee who would be committed to expanding the chain in this area. Stein said the company wants to focus its own efforts on expansion opportunities in California and Arizona.