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

CARLSBAD, CA, Oct 29 (MARKET WIRE) --
Rubio's(R) Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: RUBO) 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

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