Seau carries Ruby Tuesday into San Bernardino; plans for Chino Hills and Temecula coming soon.

Having played 18 seasons in the National Football League, Junior Seau is used to going through training camp. But his training camp for Ruby Tuesday, while not physical, definitely was hard work for Seau.

"There was a lot to learn," said Seau on the eve of the grand opening of his restaurant at 996 Hospitality Ave. in San Bernardino. "I had to go to Nashville, which as a San Diego guy, isn't the most fun. But it's the price of doing things right and being a success."

Seau, a surefire Hall of Fame linebacker who has played for the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins and, most recently, the Super Bowl-runner up New England Patriots, has combined with a group of investors to open a Ruby Tuesday in San Bernardino, the first of seven he hopes to open in the Inland Empire in the next 16 months.

While the restaurant, at the eastern end of Restaurant Row in San Bernardino, officially opens to the public at 4:30 p.m. today, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Tuesday, with the restaurant hosting several luminaries in the San Bernardino community.

One of those was San Bernardino mayor Pat Morris, who felt honored that his city was chosen by Seau as the launching point for Ruby Tuesday's campaign in the Inland Empire.

"Being affiliated with a person like Junior Seau means a lot to this community," Morris said. "Junior Seau stands out by himself as far as NFL players go. He's is above his peers, a legend. He does a great deal in the community for young people with The Junior Seau Foundation and we are looking forward to having him be a part of ours."

Seau and his investment group - which includes Ted Davenport, Jeff Howie, Scott Rodi, Scott Nunokawa, Rick Nakashima and Ken Nascimento - has plans for additional Ruby Tuesdays in Chino Hills, Fontana, Temecula, Hemet, Menefee and Wildomar, eventually expanding the brand to 20 restaurants ranging from the Inland Empire to Seau's hometown of San Diego.

Seau mentioned Chino Hills and Temecula as the likely launching points for his next two restaurants, but said that was subject to change due to various factors.

As for why his group chose to launch in San Bernardino, Seau said that the city did everything possible to make the process as easy as painless as possible.

"This is something that's been two years in the making," Seau said.

"San Bernardino has been extremely cooperative and extremely excited about this venture and it is a perfect place to start things off."

Seau, who has been working out religiously but is still up in the air about playing a 19 th NFL season, isn't just an athlete looking to haphazardly put his name on a new product. He has already excelled in the restaurant business, opening the wildly successful sports bar "Seau's" in 1996.

"I took out 52,000 square feet in Mission Valley 13 years ago and people said I was crazy," Seau said. "They said it couldn't be done and that I wouldn't be able to pull it off. Thirteen years later it's still going and it's the most successful sports bar in San Diego."

That success is something Seau hopes to build on with Ruby Tuesday, as he hopes his entrepreneurial success will match the success he had as a 12-time Pro Bowler on the gridiron.

"This is what I want to do with my post-football career," Seau said.

"I have to keep busy and I put everything in what I'm doing. I like restaurants because I like to deal with people and provide them a service. Restaurants are one of the best ways to do that."