Longtime NFL linebacker Junior Seau's next big challenge, after appearing in the 2008 Super Bowl with the New England Patriots, is opening restaurants in a troubled economy that finds people eating out less and buying more of their food at the grocery store.

The San Diego restaurateur is teaming with several business partners to open seven Inland franchised locations of Ruby Tuesday during the next 18 months, starting Aug. 13 with a San Bernardino location at 996 E. Hospitality Lane. This is the first Southern California location for the mid-priced, casual-dining chain that offers burgers, salads and sandwiches.

In a phone interview, Seau said he's seen several economic ups and downs since opening Seau's The Restaurant, his popular sports-themed eatery in San Diego, in 1996. He and his six partners in RT Restaurants Southern California LLC have exclusive rights to open Ruby Tuesdays in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties, with plans for 20 restaurants within six years.

The San Bernardino location is slated to be followed in December by a Temecula restaurant, with openings scheduled for 2009 in Chino Hills, Fontana, Hemet, Menifee and Wildomar. Seau said he and his longtime business partners heard about four years ago that Ruby Tuesday was looking to expand in the West, and approached the restaurant company about setting up eateries in the fast-growing Inland region.

"We're confident that the economy is going to get better," Seau said. "We're going to give people a different kind of restaurant they haven't seen, and there just aren't any Ruby Tuesday restaurants in Southern California right now."

In recent months, the Maryville, Tenn. -headquartered Ruby Tuesday has undergone a $65 million makeover of more than 600 restaurants to rid them of elements that consumers confused with competitors such as TGI Friday's, Applebee's and Chili's Grill & Bar.

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Photos By Mark Zaleski / The Press-Enterprise

Ruby Tuesday restaurant employees attend a training session at the new San Bernardino restaurant.

The company has done away with design elements such as Tiffany-style lamps, wall knickknacks and striped awnings, said Steve Rockwell, vice president of finance at Ruby Tuesday.

The Inland restaurants will feature a more contemporary format that includes framed artwork, newly designed tabletops and more comfortable seating. The company has upgraded its menu to include burgers made from fresh instead of frozen meat, chicken dishes with hormone-free poultry and guacamole made from scratch.

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The Ruby Tuesday restaurant is one of seven Inland locations that will be opened by NFL linebacker Junior Seau and his business partners.

"We don't have a better crystal ball than anyone else," Rockwell said of the current economy. "But we are being cautious in our expansion."

The Chicago-based restaurant consulting firm Technomic cites June data from the Commerce Department that show sales at food service and drinking places up just 0.7% from a year ago, but real growth at negative 3.2% when variables such as inflation are factored in.

Family-style restaurants -- such as Denny's and Coco's -- and the casual dining segment that includes Ruby Tuesday have been the hardest-hit in the current downturn, as families turn more to fast-food places and grocery store take-out meals, Technomic President Ron Paul said.

Ruby Tuesday encountered initial resistance from consumers to its makeover, Paul said, noting 2007 sales were down 10.3% from the previous year for company-owned units and down 7.2% for franchised locations.

National chains such as Bennigan's have recently filed for bankruptcy, while others have shut locations, and restaurants likely won't see much relief until the economy improves around the second half of 2009, Paul said. "There won't necessarily be more bankruptcies, but you will see more restaurant closings."

The Inland region has seen its share of closings, and even the venerable Starbucks Coffee recently announced it was shutting 21 local coffee houses. San Bernardino's Hospitality Lane itself recently saw the closing of two chain restaurants: Crabby Bob's seafood restaurant and GuadalaHarry's, which served Mexican fare.

But the local group remains bullish on the future, said Seau's partner Scott Rodi, a 25-year restaurant industry veteran. "The Inland Empire is where the growth is right now."