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Cypress Living, the parent company of Cypress Cove senior living campus, purchased the former Ruby Tuesday restaurant at 9001 Park Royal Drive in south Fort Myers for $2.2 million. The restaurant closed in May 2026, and Cypress Living has not determined how it will use the property.<\/p>\n
David Dorsey<\/p>\n
The parent company of Cypress Cove, a senior living campus in south Fort Myers, purchased the former Ruby Tuesday restaurant building.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy Churchill, CEO of Cypress Living, said the 5,398-square-foot building at 9001 Park Royal Drive, off Summerlin Road, would remain vacant following the $2.2 million purchase from Ruby Tuesday Hobart Exchange LLC. The property sold for $1 million less than its March 2019 purchase price of $3.2 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bob Pekol of LQ Commercial, who brokered the deal, said the price difference likely reflected a Ruby Tuesday lease that he believes was in place in 2019 and may have expired in 2026. A building with a triple-net lease to a creditworthy tenant typically commands a higher price than a vacant property, he said. Under such leases, tenants generally pay property taxes, insurance and maintenance costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in the process of getting all the equipment and items out of there,\u201d Churchill said of the building. \u201cIt won\u2019t be a restaurant going forward. We haven\u2019t officially designated a use. We also own the parcel next to it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lee Memorial Hospital Inc. is Cypress Living\u2019s corporate entity that purchased the property. It has no connection today with Lee Health, which operates Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers. But the two entities were once one and the same, dating to when the area\u2019s original two-story, wood-frame hospital opened in 1916, according to Cypress Cove\u2019s corporate history.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 1968, when Lee Memorial moved to a public nonprofit business model, Lee Memorial Hospital Inc. splintered away from it. The similarity in names between the two entities often causes confusion, Churchill said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The distinction became even more pronounced when Lee Health shifted to being a private nonprofit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo years ago, when they switched from public to private, there\u2019s no connection at all to Lee Health anymore,\u201d Churchill said, referring to common business leadership. The two entities still partner on projects, but when they do, it\u2019s as a joint venture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ruby Tuesday had operated at the location for about 20 years. The restaurant\u2019s parent company filed for bankruptcy in 2020, and the location closed in May 2026.<\/a> The chain downsized from about 1,000 to fewer than 200 locations, according to Ruby Tuesday\u2019s website.\u00a0<\/p>\n The parcel measures about 1.5 acres. Combining it with the adjacent property gives Cypress Living just under 3 acres it could develop in the future. The location has an average daily traffic count of about 37,000 vehicles.\u00a0<\/p>\n As for the site\u2019s future, Churchill said he\u2019s still not sure. He said it could be redeveloped into additional senior living units, medical office space or something else. When the property came to market about two months ago, Cypress Living had the right of first refusal to match any other offers \u2014 which it did.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have other options, as well,\u201d Churchill said. \u201cIt could be a multitude of things. It just made sense for us when it became available to hold it for future use.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFreestanding second-generation restaurants in a location like this are rare, and the market responded fast,\u201d Pekol said. \u201cInterest from multiple groups is what moved it from listing to contract so quickly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n