Red Lobster to file for bankruptcy

Never really cared either way about the place, I haven’t been in several years or more. It was this commercial last Christmas that made hate it though.

Now where will Tim and Andre dine?

Other than the fast food restaurants, are any of the big American chain restaurants of the 70s and 80s thriving today?

I’ve never set foot in a Red Lobster.

The biscuits are good. The seafood is lousy and overpriced.

Literal violence.

I lost interest when I found out that they stopped serving hush puppies and were serving cheddar puffs instead.

They are the Olive Garden of sea food

My grandmother (rest her soul) considered Red Lobster fine dining.

It had its purpose and always had long lines back in the day. I hate seeing old brands/concepts/chain restaurants die off. I'm too nostalgic I guess. Like Olive Garden it gets made fun of and I understand. However, these restaurants provide joy to many who don't have high end dining readily available or within financial reach.

Labor costs means management isn't making their millions...has nothing to do with the restaurants' performance as a whole

Beyonce made it ghetto.

[quote]Beyonce made it ghetto.

zzzzz

Who says Red Lobster isnt fine dining.

I was at a Red Lobster just once, part of a Great American Tour for my non-American husband.

The service was surprisingly excellent, the place spotless and uncrowded, the biscuits very tasty, the food just okay. I have to say I was expecting low marks across the board, so it was a pleasant surprise for a much laughed at chain restaurant - too bad about the food.

[quote]They are the Olive Garden of sea food

That was the idea. Florida based Darden Restaurants was the parent company of both Olive Garden and Red Lobster. Apparently Red Lobster separated from Darden ten years ago. I'm sure RL remained with Darden they would not be filing for bankruptcy.

I actually love the biscuits, the shrimp scampi, the parrot bay coconut shrimp, the chocolate overload cake.

Oh my god. Yes, yes, yes!

RL opened a few restaurants here in RI and southeastern MA in the 80s. They quickly shuttered every one. Lucky for us, we can throw a rock from anywhere we are in the state and hit a seafood restaurant with freshly caught seafood from our local fishermen. We have fine dining seafood as well as smaller, mom-and-pop family restaurants everywhere. We stayed away in droves from this crap (same with Olive Garden).

I do recall when they opened in the 80s in my area, they had a huge promo that summer: "99 shrimp for 99 cents" . Full page ads and TV ads. Can you imagine the crap quality of shrimp for a penny each ?

R10 said it best. Sure we all love to mock chain restaurants and their patrons, but realize there are people for whom the closing of what to them is a place with cherished family memories, or maybe the longtime hostess who seats patrons she has been serving for years, that this may feel tragic. Almost as tragic as eating at Golden Corral.

I got crabs at a Red Lobster. Black ones.

[quote]Other than the fast food restaurants, are any of the big American chain restaurants of the 70s and 80s thriving today?

I think Cheesecake Factory does OK. P.F. Chang's. Outback.

My family loved it.

There is a very old Red Lobster in Fairfax City, VA. It’s been there as long as I can remember and it was always busy. Truly old school.

To accept or reject a lease in bankruptcy, that’s IS the question!

R21. P F Chang’s was founded in 1993; Outback in 1988. Cheesecake Factory didn’t expand outside of California until the 1990s.

Chili's and Applebee's still do well in my area - they opened in the mid-80s in southern New England. TGIFriday's also still does well here - they opened in the 70s.

The last meal I had at RL was so lousy and overpriced, I vowed to never go again.

I hope you're happy, R26. Your rebellious move has now put them in Chapter 11. Asshole !

The colored people will have no where to go after church on Sunday!! First Morrison's cafeteria now this!!!

Meanwhile, someone's try to resurrect the Woolworth's lunch counter. Mamie would LOVE that.

I think its operating

When I was in college my roommate was a waiter at the Lobster. He would bring home bags of leftover cheddar biscuits when he worked closing shifts. It was awesome.

That said my husband and I last went to one about a decade ago and found most of the food almost inedibly salty.

FAT WHORES MOURN!

Good. Free lobsters

When an animal dies in terror- you eat that bad karma.

It is overpriced R26. I don’t mind their food, but 80% of it is deep fried. I could get something equivalent at Long John Silvers for half the price.

They're claiming their recent "endless shrimp" offer is what killed them financially. I don't believe it.

Dead Lobster

The saddest sight I have ever seen to date was back in the 80s as I drove by a RL at 7pm and saw a line of people out the door, sitting on the edge of the brick planter all the way down the entire length of the building, waiting to get in. I wanted to yell out at them "IT'S THEME FOOD PEOPLE, THEME FOOD!!!!!"

Endless shrimp??? Is that an oxymoron or what? I’m just sayin!

I love RL. It is a nice family dining establishment within the resources of working class families.

You'll be able to buy their frozen foods at the grocery store and just microwave it. PF Changs does that and Applebees. Trash food.

There are so many lobster restaurants in New England, that when Red Lobster opened in the nearest city to me it didn't last. Subpar to its competition.

In my 35 years, I’ve only eaten at it once.

I hope the rest of Darden follows. It was obviously never haute cuisine, but Olive Garden used to offer a few things I liked, because I didn't eat them often, and wouldn't want to make them at home. Braised Beef & Tortolloni was my favorite.

For years now, the menu has been boring and full of dishes anyone can make at home. REALLY BASIC, BORING SHIT. I'm not paying restaurant prices for that. I haven't eaten at an Olive Garden since at least 2014. But I love to cook, and do it often. So I only really eat at non-chain places. Local little places owned by actual chefs, family diners, etc.

R42 I’d be terrified of any NE town where Red Lobstah was “the” place!🤷🏻‍♂️

Well, it certainly didn't help them r36. Although I think that was what caused RL to file bankruptcy a few years ago, not now. Since then they've cheapened their food to cut costs to the bone (example, the Cheddar Bay Biscuits no longer have any cheese in them).

R42 read my post at R18. I'm in southern NE.

I can't stand RL but my mother LOVES them and I will legitimately be sad for her if they close (she is a terrible cook and has the worst taste but I love her anyway)

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is yet another unfortunate consequence of Lizzo's decision to retire from music and return to WaterWorld.

They kicked me out of a Red Lobster one time. I had the endless shrimp and they cut me off. I said, “I thought it was all you can eat.” They said, “Yeah, it’s all you can eat. That’s all you get.”

I'm reminded of the thread "Is Chicago A Flyover City". Back about 20 years ago I hosed a big manager's meeting in my office for staff from all over the country. On the first evening I heard a group from Chicago talking about "I hope we can go to Red Lobster at least once while we're here". I had to sadly inform them that "the Lob" was not on our approved company dining list.

Flyover X 2 = 😵‍💫 ^

I'm allergic to shellfish. Never been there.

“Let’s go to Red Lobster! I just love their biscuits!”

I don't go to RL, but I must admit I do buy their boxed Cheddar Bay Biscuit mix in the market. They also sell them already made up and frozen but they are not good at all.

Nasty place. Good riddance.

I’ll get flamed for this but RL is most decidedly a Black restaurant where I live

Put out of business by Hurry Up Shrimp

My sister found rice stuck to the bottom of her coconut shrimp when she did not have rice on her plate. Her theory is they took them off a plate of half-eaten food and reheated them for her.

And what’s her issue? She sat down voluntarily , yes?!

The Red Lobsters here in North Texas are always busy.

So is a TX gas station urinal…

The article makes clear they're in trouble because of high leases and labor agreements, not lack of customers. They'll probably survive the Chapter 11.

Lease rejection

The next lesson: executory contracts

I always assumed they owned all their buildings. I don't think I've ever seen a RL in a shopping center or other multi tenant building, but I assume there may be some.

That’s not how commercial r.e. works —of course they lease… duh.

Let’s be a typical RL customer. I eat coconut shrimp twice a year…

[quote] My sister found rice stuck to the bottom of her coconut shrimp when she did not have rice on her plate. Her theory is they took them off a plate of half-eaten food and reheated them for her.

Look at her! Then don't eat the coconut shrimp, Queen Camilla.

where will poor folks go for celebratory dinners and the such now?

R70 Olive Garden and Applebee's are still in business.

Chili’s …rockin’ hard

This reminds me of a pretty good book.

WASHINGTON — Dozens of Red Lobster locations across the country abruptly shuttered their doors on Monday.

More than 80 Red Lobster locations in at least 27 states were listed as "temporarily closed" on the restaurant's website.

Workers at the shuttered restaurants shared their disbelief on social media and said they received no notice whatsoever.

The closures come as bankruptcy rumors circled the seafood restaurant chain in recent weeks. Red Lobster has been searching for a buyer to avoid filing for Chapter 11, multiple media outlets reported last month.

The Orlando-based chain, known for its endless shrimp deals, has reportedly been eyeing bankruptcy filing to restructure its debt and downsize from its 650 US locations, CNN reports.

The company has yet to publicly acknowledge Monday's closures and did not respond to a request for comment.

For years, Red Lobster faced a multitude of difficulties — both financially and internally.

In 2021 and 2022, the company saw a new CEO, chief marketing officer, chief financial officer and chief information officer join the C-Suite. All of them left within two years, according to CNN.

Last summer, the company revived their endless shrimp menu deal, which led to a $11 million loss for the seafood chain, according to CNN.

Red Lobster's top supplier, Thai Union, recently cut ties with the seafood restaurant as well.

There are more than 700 Red Lobster locations worldwide.

Full list in article

I haven’t had Red Lobster since like 2009. I used to enjoy it once upon a time though.

I was given a RL $50 card at a Christmas party. I hadn't been in many years. In about early March I took a friend for dinner and it was awful. Friend ordered some sort of grilled seafood platter, and I had a fish filet with six shrimp. No alcohol only ice tea. We split some sort of chocolate lava dessert. The bill came to $84 plus tip so total was $100. I don't see where this is affordable for most working Joes. Thankfully the gift card to a bit of the sting out of it.

There is one around here and in six years I've never seen more than 3-5 extremely old people inside at any given time.

During the 2008 campaign Obama stopped at a diner in my hometown. My 11 year old nephew wondered why he didn't go somewhere classy like Red Lobster.

Red Lobster is fancy when you’re young. Same with Cheesecake Factory.

Won’t someone think of the Cheddar Bay Biscuits!

I lived in Maine in the 90's and there was briefly a Red Lobster by the mall. Never went and always made fun of it. It didn't last. Also RIP Bugaboo Creek steakhouse ( the talking tree!)

The employees didn’t even find out until they showed up for work.

What does race have to do with it?

Not enough queens getting fucked good, I guess.

Interesting article highlighting how Red Lobster was always a restaurant welcoming to African Americans, and hired them when other restaurants wouldn’t.