LogFAQs > #980478106

I worked for Red Lobster for over 20yrs. I can promise you Endless Shrimp, a promotion we ran for every single year I was part of the company, didnt do them in. We lost more money in the one year we ran All you can eat Crab legs than Red Lobster lost last quarter from Endless Shrimp (which is what theyre focusing the majority of the blame on).

What did them in was the sale from Darden to Golden Gate Capital who after acquiring the brand immediately sold all the properties that Red Lobster owned (to another company they had holdings in) and forced the stores to now lease back the buildings and property many locations (over 700 at the time of the sale) had owned and paid no lease on for years.

The last store I was in for instance went from having no lease to paying just over $20,000 a month for their building.

Couple in the rising cost of seafood and it made it much tougher to keep it in the black. More failed attempts to right the ship (like a complete menu overall that expanded the menu to add items like pork chops, burgers, pizzas, etc. in an attempt to draw in non seafood lovers) added to the food costs. Waste rose as a result. A few years later Covid came along and drove a stake through the heart of the business.

Theyve been bleeding out since. Less foot traffic (which the latest Endless Shrimp change to being a full time menu selection was supposed to fix) and the sale to Thai Union Group (whom RL was already purchasing the majority of their seafood from) furthered and sped up the demise as Thai Union, for all their success in being a seafood distributor, have no idea how to operate a restaurant. Certainly not in the States at that.

The latest closing of restaurants and the filing for bankruptcy wont save the business, its only delaying its demise. The best outlook for the brand is they significantly downsize even more (perhaps down to less than 100 locations, they still have over 500) and reduce their menu down to what they offered at the height of their success.

Then hope and pray a company who is experienced in running restaurants takes over and really pours their heart and soul into saving a once iconic brand.