Rubio's(R) Restaurants, Inc. Rejects Meruelo Group Proposal and Announces Plan to Evaluate Strategic Alternatives

CARLSBAD, CA, Oct 29, 2009 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --
RUBO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Rubio's(R) Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: RUBO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) today announced that its
Board of Directors has unanimously rejected the unsolicited proposal
from a group consisting of Alex Meruelo and his affiliates and Levine
Leichtman Capital Partners IV, L.P. to acquire all of the Company's
outstanding common stock for $8.00 per share. The Board, after a
thorough review with management, a Special Committee of the Board and
its financial and legal advisors, determined that the proposal was
not in the best interests of the Company's stockholders.

The Board has commenced a process to evaluate the Company's strategic
alternatives to enhance stockholder value, including an evaluation of
the expressions of interest received by the Company. No timetable has
been set for completion of this evaluation process, and there can be
no assurance that any transaction will result. The Board has engaged
Cowen and Company, LLC to provide financial advice and assist the
Board with its evaluation process.

Dan Pittard, Rubio's President and CEO, said, "We believe that
Rubio's continues to have a winning strategy for Fast Casual, which
has become the fastest growing segment of the restaurant industry. We
offer an attractive casual ambiance and menu selection at prices
significantly below casual dining price points. Our market research
confirms that a growing number of guests understand this value
proposition, and we believe we are very well-positioned now and when
the economy improves. Meanwhile, we believe we can continue to build
stockholder value through our proactive response to the changing
economy and advancing our winning strategy. We remain confident in
our ability to continue this strategy while the Board evaluates the
Company's strategic alternatives."

The Company does not plan to make any further comment on the
evaluation process until the evaluation is complete.

About Rubio's(R) Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: RUBO)

Bold, distinctive, Baja-inspired food is the hallmark of Rubio's
Fresh Mexican Grill(R). The first Rubio's was opened in 1983 in the
Mission Bay community of San Diego by Ralph Rubio and his father, Ray
Rubio. Rubio's is credited with introducing fish tacos to Southern
California and starting a phenomenon that has spread coast to coast.
In addition to chargrilled marinated chicken, lean carne asada steak,
and slow-roasted pork carnitas, Rubio's menu features seafood items
including grilled mahi mahi and shrimp. Guacamole and a variety of
salsas and proprietary sauces are made from scratch daily, and
Rubio's uses canola oil with zero grams trans fat per serving. The
menu includes tacos, burritos, salads and bowls, quesadillas,
HealthMex(R) offerings which are lower in fat and calories, and
domestic and imported beer in most locations. Each restaurant design
is reminiscent of the relaxed, warm and inviting atmosphere of Baja
California, a coastal state of Mexico. Headquartered in Carlsbad,
California, Rubio's operates, licenses or franchises more than 195
restaurants in California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Nevada. More
information can be found at www.rubios.com.

Safe Harbor Disclosure

Some of the information in this press release may contain
forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future
financial performance of the Company. Please note that any statements
that may be considered forward-looking are based on projections; that
any projections involve judgment, and that individual judgments may
vary. Moreover, these projections are based only on limited
information available to us now, which is subject to change. Although
those projections and the factors influencing them will likely
change, we are under no obligation to inform you if they do. Actual
results may differ substantially from any such forward-looking
statements as a result of various factors, many of which are beyond
our control, including, among others, our comparable store sales
results and revenues, our product, labor expenses and other
restaurant costs, the success of our promotions, new product offerings
and marketing strategies, our ability to recruit and retain qualified
personnel, adverse effects of weather, the adequacy of our reserves
related to closed stores or stores to be sold, increased depreciation
or asset write downs, our ability to manage ongoing and unanticipated
costs, such as costs to comply with regulatory initiatives and
litigation costs, our ability to implement a franchise strategy, our
ability to open additional or maintain existing restaurants in the
coming periods, our ability to finalize our settlement of the wage
and hour class action lawsuits filed in California and the effects of
ever-increasing competition. These and other factors can be found in
our filings with the SEC including, without limitation, in the "Risk
Factors" section of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. The
Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of
any revision to these
forward-looking statements to reflect events or
circumstances following the date of this release.

Investor Relations:
Scott Liolios or Cody Slach
Liolios Group, Inc.
Tel (949) 574-3860
Email Contact

SOURCE: Rubio's Restaurants

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