View Full Version : Red Lobster files for bankruptcy
Tough times, I guess.
"The chain stumbled with an all-you-can eat shrimp deal that executives hoped would turn it around but instead contributed to millions of dollars in losses. The company intends to investigate former CEO Paul Kenny’s decision to make the $20 unlimited shrimp deal a permanent menu item and his relationship with Thai Union, which owns the company along with management and other investors, and is one of its major seafood suppliers, according to Tibus. The all-you-can-eat shrimp deal contributed to $11 million in losses, Tibus said."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/red-lobster-files-for-bankruptcy-with-plan-to-sell-business-and-reduce-locations/ar-BB1mH0Dj?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=2f2ce4c04cc04b89bb8f5f4f76574be7&ei=11
The kind of fat slobs you'd attract with any "all you can eat" offering is always a stupid idea.
The Red Lobster near me closed abruptly before we saw the blurb in the news about RL cutting back on their losses. I think we've only been there once in the last 10 years. Our elderly parents love RL and the all you can eat shrimp and we went because our parents wanted to go there. After our parents were gone, we had no reason to go. There's just not many things there that appeal to us.
titsonritz
05-20-24, 17:55
Those Sysco truck they unload regularly should be a clue they’re shit.
CrowCommand
05-20-24, 18:05
DEAR GOD! Has the whole world gone CRAZY?!
Only ever eaten there once but I’m guessing that when a Thai company took control and started the all you can eat shrimp thing they assumed the customers would be more like Thai customers and order maybe one extra helping. Once the average Homer Simpson sized American walked through the door that was the beginning of the end. I’m imagining some Thai executive is now living in a tent somewhere…
The best thing there is probably their biscuits (or whatever they're called).
I'm only amazed they lasted this long. For the last 20+ years they have been the seafood version of Olive Garden.
I ate at one of those shitboxes exactly once.
So bye, I guess...
I'm only amazed they lasted this long. For the last 20+ years they have been the seafood version of Olive Garden.
Is never ending soup and salad bowl the next victim? I believe the owner of Red Lobster owns Olive Garden too.
At one time the place was good, at least the one here. Then in recent times with the AYCE shrimp it became a hood magnet. Unfortunately when you have a change in clientele the service and quality change with the flow.
Is never ending soup and salad bowl the next victim? I believe the owner of Red Lobster owns Olive Garden too.
Darden restaurants used to own RL, they sold it in 2014.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darden_Restaurants
Darden own some of the higher end restaurants as well as the mid range or lower level.
The best thing there is probably their biscuits (or whatever they're called).
Those biscuits are good. I wonder if they will stop making the mix for them you can buy in the store.
We ate there sometimes when I was a kid in the 80's and 90's. The popcorn shrimp on the kids menu along with all the cool ocean themed decorations and live lobster tank were decent entertainment for young minds.
One night early 90's we ate at the RL in my small town, Lake Jackson, TX and left around 8pm. Later that same night at 9pm it was held up at gunpoint by two unmasked robbers. All the patrons were forced into the large refrigerator and freezer rooms and the two robbers made out with all the cash on hand. They were caught still at their homes in town the next day. Stupid.
It did turn into the joke restaurant over the years. My wife's family always called the place Dead Lobster. I won't miss it.
Diamondback
05-21-24, 08:25
Those biscuits are good. I wonder if they will stop making the mix for them you can buy in the store.
Doubtful; they don't make the mix, just licensed the IP and recipe. And you can DIY it for less anyway...
https://topsecretrecipes.com/red-lobster-cheddar-bay-biscuits-copycat-recipe.html
And healthier too!
https://topsecretrecipes.com/red-lobster-cheddar-bay-biscuits-low-fat-copycat-recipe.html
This guy's clones are good enough that when I was in college, we did a blind taste test between his Almond Roca knockoff vs genuine-article I'd picked up fresh from Brown & Haley's plant the night before, and nobody could taste a difference.
Gabriel556
05-21-24, 09:42
We ate at one last weekend as a bit of a nostalgia thing. My wife and I both grew up in low income families but occasionally as a special treat we got to eat at a RL in the 80’s when we were kids. While the food isn’t a mind-blowing gastro experience, it was kind of fun to reminisce. The service was good and the place was clean but I could tell something was off (we already knew their financial state). It’s sad to see old names disappear but that’s the way restaurants are.
Averageman
05-21-24, 14:34
Gluttoney being a mortal sin and all, I would guess no one in Thialand would imagine another Human eating 5 pounds of Shrimp.
Actually in Thialand the locals would likely be embarassed to ask for seconds. So they totally misread the cultural differences.
I took my Boy to Hooters when he was 13 for All you Can Eat Shrimp.
The Waitress was VERY ATTRACTIVE and my Son was very shy when she would come to the table.
When She brought the Check I candidly asked her to kiss my Son on the cheek. When She did, He looked like he was about to explode, it was too much for his 13 year old horniness to withstand and he vomited all his shrimp in the Parking lot.
Being Dad is Fun.
ChattanoogaPhil
05-21-24, 15:27
Only been a couple times during my life. Can't remember what I ordered but still remember their tasty biscuits.
titsonritz
05-21-24, 17:23
The best thing there is probably their biscuits (or whatever they're called).
No reason to go to RL for those when you can make them at home
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/260622/red-lobster-cheddar-biscuits/
titsonritz
05-21-24, 17:26
Doubtful; they don't make the mix, just licensed the IP and recipe. And you can DIY it for less anyway...
https://topsecretrecipes.com/red-lobster-cheddar-bay-biscuits-copycat-recipe.html
And healthier too!
https://topsecretrecipes.com/red-lobster-cheddar-bay-biscuits-low-fat-copycat-recipe.html
This guy's clones are good enough that when I was in college, we did a blind taste test between his Almond Roca knockoff vs genuine-article I'd picked up fresh from Brown & Haley's plant the night before, and nobody could taste a difference.
Doh, beat me to it.
Diamondback
05-21-24, 17:29
Doh, beat me to it.
Try both and see which tastes closer - when I've done clone shootouts, TSR usually wins over the other knockoff. :)
CrowCommand
05-21-24, 18:12
Gluttoney being a mortal sin and all, I would guess no one in Thialand would imagine another Human eating 5 pounds of Shrimp.
Actually in Thialand the locals would likely be embarassed to ask for seconds. So they totally misread the cultural differences.
I took my Boy to Hooters when he was 13 for All you Can Eat Shrimp.
The Waitress was VERY ATTRACTIVE and my Son was very shy when she would come to the table.
When She brought the Check I candidly asked her to kiss my Son on the cheek. When She did, He looked like he was about to explode, it was too much for his 13 year old horniness to withstand and he vomited all his shrimp in the Parking lot.
Being Dad is Fun.
This is gold. You are a great dad.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
FromMyColdDeadHand
05-21-24, 18:36
This is an odd question, and I mean it with no malice or ill intent, but what was it with RL and Black people? My wife and I went to one in the early 2000s since it was close to the house, and it was before there were other sea food options. But it always seemed odd the Blacks were way over represented in the clientele? I found the food just OK. Never went for the all-you-can-stuff offers, and when I did order what I wanted, it seemed expensive for what you got. Still cheaper than the other sea food options, but no where near as good.
I read that that they oversold the shrimp offer, as in too many people came. Revenue was up, but I guess maybe expenses were up more.
And yes, the biscuits are the only thing I remember.
All you can eat is a different concept than it was in the 1980s.
We ate at one last weekend as a bit of a nostalgia thing. My wife and I both grew up in low income families but occasionally as a special treat we got to eat at a RL in the 80’s when we were kids. While the food isn’t a mind-blowing gastro experience, it was kind of fun to reminisce. The service was good and the place was clean but I could tell something was off (we already knew their financial state). It’s sad to see old names disappear but that’s the way restaurants are.
In Florida RL used to be a joke. But in the last 25 years I watched all the "really good" seafood places drop off in quality, go out of business or become prohibitively expensive. I knew it was getting bad when the good sushi place was more affordable than the old good seafood house. Towards the end, RL really wasn't any better or worse than the rest.
Reminded me of Outback steakhouse, when they first opened it was an hour wait to get a table but towards the end they couldn't even do their bloomin' onion right. Instead of being a tasty awesome treat, it was just a greasy, soggy mess. I watched places that were landmarks before I was born run the quality of the food right into the ground.
One common remark I've heard about restaraunts over the decades - "That place used to be good when it first opened".
Diamondback
05-21-24, 22:30
In Florida RL used to be a joke. But in the last 25 years I watched all the "really good" seafood places drop off in quality, go out of business or become prohibitively expensive. I knew it was getting bad when the good sushi place was more affordable than the old good seafood house. Towards the end, RL really wasn't any better or worse than the rest.
Reminded me of Outback steakhouse, when they first opened it was an hour wait to get a table but towards the end they couldn't even do their bloomin' onion right. Instead of being a tasty awesome treat, it was just a greasy, soggy mess. I watched places that were landmarks before I was born run the quality of the food right into the ground.
Sw the same thing with Sizzler steakhouses out here. Meat portions got smaller and lower quality, filet mignon got replaced wth sirloin, Prime beef got downgraded to Choice then Ungraded, "signature" menu items lost noticeable ingredients... each change lost more customers which in turn meant more corner-cutting.
Sw the same thing with Sizzler steakhouses out here. Meat portions got smaller and lower quality, filet mignon got replaced wth sirloin, Prime beef got downgraded to Choice then Ungraded, "signature" menu items lost noticeable ingredients... each change lost more customers which in turn meant more corner-cutting.
Man, you gotta go way back to arrive when Sizzler was good. Late 70s?
Never been to a RL, so can't relate, but Sizzler!
Back in the 70's our parents took us there and it was like the Ruth's Chris of the 70's for us. At the time I thought we were living in high cotton when we went to Sizzler.
To us, Ruth's Chris is highly overrated. Service was good but steak was not what I expected from a high end steakhouse. For the last 10 years, our go to celebration steak restaurant is Fleming's, surprisingly part of the Outback Steakhouse group. Outback is horrible while Fleming's is out of this world awesome.
To us, Ruth's Chris is highly overrated. Service was good but steak was not what I expected from a high end steakhouse. For the last 10 years, our go to celebration steak restaurant is Fleming's, surprisingly part of the Outback Steakhouse group. Outback is horrible while Fleming's is out of this world awesome.
I don't disagree, was figuring mostly on the monetary aspect. But I usually get the fillet and those are hard to screw up.
The best steakhouse I've ever been to was back in the 90's when we were doing a lot of travel to Mexico. Our Falcon Lear jet would land in El Paso to refuel and handle customs stuff.
On one trip we stayed in El Paso on the return flight and went to Cattleman's at Indian Cliff's Ranch. Great experience all around and they had some HUGE Steaks.
FromMyColdDeadHand
05-22-24, 07:57
Steak? Chain? Mortons usually doesn't screw it up. For a local, Bern's in Tampa. More an experience than a steakhouse. I was amazed when I moved to Denver how you can get a great steak at a strip-mall resturaunt.
Definately see the 'arc' of restaurants. Even Pizza Hut lost its way.
"Nobody out-pizzas the Hut"? Well, actually, quite a few places do.
Diamondback
05-22-24, 08:48
"Nobody out-pizzas the Hut"? Well, actually, quite a few places do.
Pizza Hut is like Suway, rested on their laurels as "first" too long. I get better from Mod Pizza.
Diamondback
05-22-24, 08:51
Man, you gotta go way back to arrive when Sizzler was good. Late 70s?
Mid 1980s when I was a kid. :) So if my "good" is your "not so much" I can only imagine what I missed out on... then again the PNW is know for seafood not beef, which makes my family seafood allergy all the more ironic.
Averageman
05-22-24, 10:05
One common remark I've heard about restaurants over the decades - "That place used to be good when it first opened".
Well, the reason that is, is because the real money isn't made in running a high end restaurant.
The money is in starting one and then building up an amazing service oriented quality place to eat with returning clientel. Hell you can even run it on the narrowest of margins.
Then you sell that sucker inside the first 18 months, let the new Owner figure out the magic.
And then it goes to Sh*t.
I have two Uncles that did this all over Florida with nightclubs and they did very well, and they blew it on Cocaine.
I love a good steakhouse, thankfully we have a fair number of them in the area, Flemings, Morton’s, Ruth Chris, Houston’s, Arroy Chop House, Andrew’s, and a bunch more if I’m willing to drive an hour or less. About 7 years ago we found a great place in a strip mall, real hole in the wall, after one of my niece’s volleyball games, turned out to be one of the best steaks I’ve ever had, they’ve since grown into a larger building but their quality has stayed the same if not improved even more.
I love a good steakhouse, thankfully we have a fair number of them in the area, Flemings, Morton’s, Ruth Chris, Houston’s, Arroy Chop House, Andrew’s, and a bunch more if I’m willing to drive an hour or less. About 7 years ago we found a great place in a strip mall, real hole in the wall, after one of my niece’s volleyball games, turned out to be one of the best steaks I’ve ever had, they’ve since grown into a larger building but their quality has stayed the same if not improved even more.
Best steakhouse is my grill. Ruth Chris is kind of a joke, the "secret" to their sizzling steak is plates in the oven and then add a pad of butter and put a steak on it. That's it. They use decent steak but they are amazingly overpriced and easy to beat.
I’ve always thought Ruth’s Chris is the place yuppies go to make people think they have good taste.
I’ve always thought Ruth’s Chris is the place yuppies go to make people think they have good taste.
Probably that too. In Ft. Lauderdale it was always the place where you took a girl on a date to try and impress her. Of course anyone who was actually impressed that you took them to Ruth Chris on a date is gonna be the "wrong girl" anyway.
Diamondback
05-22-24, 22:16
Never ate there, but sounds like RC's only bubble of respectability was when they had Rush as spokesman.
Which makes me in retrospect question his taste, other than Snapple and Florida OJ...
I’ve always thought Ruth’s Chris is the place yuppies go to make people think they have good taste.
We had one in the state for a few years. They didn’t make it long, because we have to many local places they had to compete against. We know how to cook in the Deep South.
Never ate there, but sounds like RC's only bubble of respectability was when they had Rush as spokesman.
Which makes me in retrospect question his taste, other than Snapple and Florida OJ...
It wasn't a bad steak, it was just a cost prohibitive ordinary steak. I suspect 3/4 of this forum makes a better steak on their grill. The big secret to steak is quality meat, quality cut. It doesn't need 32 secret cajun spices, I pretty much just salt and pepper my steak.
1_click_off
05-23-24, 06:56
It wasn't a bad steak, it was just a cost prohibitive ordinary steak. I suspect 3/4 of this forum makes a better steak on their grill. The big secret to steak is quality meat, quality cut. It doesn't need 32 secret cajun spices, I pretty much just salt and pepper my steak.
With you on that. Salt, fresh cracked pepper, let it set on a rack over night in the fridge, take it out and get close to room temp, bake it on the rack at 200deg until it hits 105-110 internal temp, finish it off in a cast iron skillet with butter and fresh minced garlic…. Oh yeah.
Averageman
05-23-24, 07:24
There is nothing like letting your steak rest five minutes after cooking on a plate with a big ol pat of garlic butter.
I can understand if you dont like that personally (there are heathens who actually do not like Gartlic) but it's in the SOP on my grill.
I’ve always thought Ruth’s Chris is the place yuppies go to make people think they have good taste.
Totally. Mediocre food at ridiculous prices.
Plus, their name is dumb.
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/private-equity-rolled-red-lobster-rcna153397
Looks like it wasn’t the endless shrimp that did in the Dead Lobster…
When a private-equity firm bought the iconic seafood chain in 2014, it sold the real estate under the restaurants for $1.5 billion. Then the restaurants struggled to pay the rents.
Assigning blame for company failures is tricky. But some analysts say the root of Red Lobster’s woes was not the endless shrimp promotions that some have blamed. Yes, the company lost $11 million from the shrimp escapade, its bankruptcy filing shows, and suffered from inflation and higher labor costs. But a bigger culprit in the company’s problems is a financing technique favored by a powerful force in the financial industry known as private equity.
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