Red Lobster eyes bankruptcy option after $11M in losses from endless shrimp ( abcnews.go.com )

"Last year, Red Lobster reported $11 million in operating losses following its flubbed 'Ultimate Endless Shrimp' deal, which backfired when it reeled in too many customers after the limited-time promo became a permanent menu fixture last June. The restaurant chain later reported $12.5 million in losses in the fourth quarter of 2023."

Ultragigagigantic ,
@Ultragigagigantic@lemmy.world avatar

Every time I went to get a "All you can eat" deal from places that weren't normally a buffet you would have to wait for a waiter to bring you more and the waiter hates the extra trips to the table and/or the owner tells their employees to drag their feet bringing more and makes the amount they bring miniscule. Just an awful experience the couple times I tried.

I don't go out to eat except for a Asian buffet a couple times a year. I'd rather eat cheetos in the basement.

Sorry mcdonalds and taco bell, your shit was barely worth it when it was cheap. Insane prices coming out of the fast food industry these days.

I own a oven and can buy frozen pizzas, get fucked.

SatansMaggotyCumFart ,

Fucking the frozen pizza is slightly better than fucking them straight out of the oven.

hark ,
@hark@lemmy.world avatar

I've only gone to red lobster for the endless shrimp (though there are much better all-you-can-eat options out there). They should try making their regular offerings better. It also doesn't help that private equity is in the middle of raiding the company and that's probably the main reason they're currently eyeing bankruptcy.

Jimmycakes ,

Same with olive garden they want the decades old prime real estate. They could give a fuck about the restaurant

MashedTech ,

If that much loss is going to bring down a corporation? Maybe the corpo wasn't being taken care of good enough

someguywithacomputer ,

I bet this is just the setup for when they try to weasel their way out of California's minimum wage and then when they win, they'll use the same playbook to try to get around minimum wage in other states. This could cause a snowball effect where a nonzero number of employers get a free pass on select labor laws.

InternetUser2012 ,

The Applebees of the sea.

KoalaUnknown ,

[Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

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    Hugin ,

    If they are going into chapter 11 then the losses are privatized. Chapter 11 halts debt collection temporally while restructuring happens. Afterwords the previous owners own none of the company or a much reduced chunk of the company. The previous debtors now own most or all of the company. Similar to a bank repossessing a house it's debtors repossessing a business.

    It's also possible for the judge or who they appoint to run the bankruptcy too determine there isn't any hope saving the business and convert it to a chapter 7 which is close everything and sell off the assets to try and pay back the debtors.

    Either was the original owners usually get little to nothing.

    HobbitFoot ,

    I'm not surprised. Every endless seafood deal Red Lobster did lost money.

    bradorsomething ,

    Red Lobster: “Endless Shrimp”

    Ocean: “Dude… no.”

    boatsnhos931 ,

    I do it all for the skrimpz

    vividspecter ,

    But the sign said all you can eat!

    Aatube ,
    @Aatube@kbin.melroy.org avatar

    the frying dutchman is actually a killer name

    FireWire400 ,
    @FireWire400@lemmy.world avatar

    That's what they get for offering 30 shrimp for just $10.99 and fueling people's addictions...

    SlopppyEngineer ,

    Some people can't help themselves at the seafood buffet

    https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/83d4eeb1-dc25-44e9-a2f0-594c7a701b6d.gif

    RagingRobot ,

    Why didn't they stop doing it sooner? Lol once they saw it was costing too much they could have retired it and made up some new marketing crap.

    Badeendje ,
    @Badeendje@lemmy.world avatar

    Or.. raised the price. You know.. capitalism. They seemed to have failed econ 101. Or the bankruptcy is a good way to get out from under debt and start over. It's the American way.

    ColeSloth ,

    The endless shrimp reason is just BS.

    They're old restaurants and people just don't go there to be "fancy" anymore. Younger people just don't eat a lot of crab, shrimp, and lobster nowadays, and due to ocean issues crab prices and seafood prices have increased even more than beef and other food costs, so they're having to charge more more things fewer people want to go there for. They keep hauling in more and more, but prices have tripled over the past 10 years or so for lobster. Same over the last several years with crab. Especially with the mass die off of snowcrab a year or so ago.

    Stupidmanager ,

    They tried all sorts of tricks actually. But this event brought people in. In the 90’s I’d see it on the local news about the hour long waits and whatnot. This was still true up until the last time I went.

    I recall they slowed service, refill limits at a time, even type of order repeat(not getting 10 scampi in a row). I was a fan of the grilled shrimp and as a teen could eat 20 orders (a feat I’m not so proud of now). As an adult I stopped eating there when I realized what I was doing to my body (mid 00s).

    I was never asked to leave due to the amount I ate, but I experienced some of these. damn if it wasn’t 5-10 minutes between food, couldn’t order more until you had cleared the only 2 plates allowed at a time, never find the waiter, etc. oh, and they would bring those ungodly amazing biscuits over, “to hold me over”.

    I do not miss the man I was back then. I can honestly say I’m half the man I was then.

    AngryCommieKender ,

    You can make the biscuits at home. I personally would find better recipes for much of the rest of their menu.

    Stupidmanager ,

    Yeah. I have made them since I stopped going there. And far better than the box mix you buy at the store.

    aleph , (edited )
    @aleph@lemm.ee avatar

    Did they learn nothing from The Simpsons?

    OldManBOMBIN OP ,

    Man. They always do everything first.

    cyborganism ,

    Filing bankruptcy over 11 million? Really? Doesn't seem like a lot for a big restaurant chain.

    wreckedcarzz ,
    @wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world avatar

    Well considering that I'm a "millennial" and literally not a single person I know has ever visited, requested, or mentioned Red Lobster as a restaurant choice... they might have deeper trouble than some shitty shrimp. Can't run a business forever when your largest potential market is 65+...

    protist ,

    The "endless shrimp" excuse seems like a marketing ploy. Doesn't hit as hard as "no one's coming to our restaurants to eat our shitty food."

    cyborganism ,

    For me it's just not really an option because there are no locations in Québec. The closest one is in Ottawa, two hours away.

    It's one of our favorite places to go eat when we go to Ottawa. It's honestly not as bad as people say it is. The food is always great at that location.

    wolfkin ,
    @wolfkin@mastodon.social avatar

    @cyborganism @wreckedcarzz If you take internet reviews there are only three types of restaurants.

    1. Excellent places that deserve their Michelin Stars

    2. Excellent places that should have Michelin Stars

    3. Diarrhea fuel garbage pits. With food so disgusting you shouldn't even feed it to the stray dog that bit your baby.

    On our national deal hunting website you can see all the "It gives you diarrhea comments" every time there's a coupon for McDonalds or franchised Shawarma

    Serinus ,

    Chain restaurants also have a ton of variance. Most Olive garden is shit these dates, but A. They were great in the mid 90s before they enshittified, and B. I'm sure there's still a great Olive Garden out there somewhere.

    Num10ck ,

    olive garden is the same company as red lobster and chili's

    YerbaYerba ,

    Red lobster was sold off from the olive garden parent company 10 years ago

    wolfkin ,
    @wolfkin@mastodon.social avatar

    @wreckedcarzz @cyborganism

    this is hilarious fellow millennial, because I just went to Red Lobster today and had a great time.

    turmacar ,

    The biscuits are the best part and they sell the mix, so not a lot of reason to visit if there's any other options for seafood.

    skygirl ,

    The biscuits are amazing

    interrobang ,

    God yes. When i die, take my ashes to cheddar bay

    AtariDump ,

    Now you can make them at home!

    https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/25d1c376-ac10-4e50-988b-9fc187620b83.jpeg

    malle_yeno ,
    @malle_yeno@pawb.social avatar

    I live in Saskatchewan, which is as land locked as it gets in Canada. And for some reason, my city has a Red Lobster. I don't think I've heard anyone talk about going to it because who would expect a seafood restaurant all the way out here to be good? I have no clue how they're making enough money to operate.

    (Also, nice pfp! 🐾 )

    Wrench ,

    Everything in red lobster is frozen anyway.

    But then again, all fish is frozen before being served to kill parasites. Even the most delicious sushi will be flash frozen first. I've had high end raw fish in Las Vegas, a literal dessert.

    That said, yeah, Red Lobster isn't going to be top notch on the coast, let alone butt fuck nowhere.

    EinfachUnersetzlich ,

    I've had high end raw fish in Las Vegas, a literal dessert.

    Fish as a dessert??

    Damage ,

    Desert. The fish was a desert. It's Las Vegas that's in a dessert, obviously.

    artichokecustard , (edited )

    * cries in iron chef *

    Num10ck ,

    las vegas flies in a cargo jet of fish hourly.

    wreckedcarzz ,
    @wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world avatar

    Thanks ^///^

    intensely_human ,

    I don’t know man. I went to a red lobster once in 2004.

    Fermion ,

    I've been to red lobster once and spent a very uncomfortable period of time on the porcelain throne shortly after. The news of bankruptcy does not surprise me.

    FlashMobOfOne ,
    @FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world avatar

    Once their cheddar biscuits became purchasable on a store shelf, I imagine that decreased the impetus to visit the actual restaurant.

    Their biscuits are the best part.

    brygphilomena ,

    They always had the perception of expensive for me. So growing up, they were a special occasion place to get seafood. I've been a few times in the last few years. Their food was good, but not great and the places were never packed.

    Between Red Lobster and almost any other seafood place, the other one would win out for taste and quality.

    They had a huge marketing issue, offering "cheap" all you can eat, but making the place look and try to feel like a upscale option when it was basically a seafood Applebee's.

    stoly ,

    It’s like Panera or Olive Garden. Just boring flavorless food that is only attractive to people who don’t know better.

    iegod ,

    Millennial here hooked on their biscuits. It's just you.

    AngryCommieKender ,

    You can make them at home. Sam's Club, and Costco both sell the dough mix. It also allows you to use white extra sharp cheddar to make them that much yummier

    wolfpack86 ,

    It is peak 90s restaurant culture.

    And then in some areas seen as luxury. Same goes for Olive Garden.

    stoly ,

    In the late 90s I mentioned never having tried lobster. This resulted in a dangerous u-turn and a drive to the closest red lobster. Only time I went and I forgot until your comment.

    OldManBOMBIN OP ,

    It's also really expensive importing biscuits from Cheddar Bay

    The_v ,

    The previous owners purchased the company via a leveraged buyout. It's not one quarters losses, it's the massive long-term debt on it's books.

    This is a handy excuse to fuck over employees and suppliers.

    Kolanaki ,
    @Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

    Endless shrimp.

    Ends.

    OldManBOMBIN OP ,

    Walks in, limits your shrimp, refuses not to elaborate, leaves the entire world.

    moriquende ,

    Me: please do not elaborate

    Red Lobster: elaborates

    KingJalopy ,

    Never ending story...

    Ended.

    Kolanaki ,
    @Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

    Did it or did the kid reading it just stop reading? 🤔

    KingJalopy ,

    🤯

    wreckedcarzz ,
    @wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world avatar

    Sounds like an open-shut case. Who's with me? I want a $9 check in 7 months.

    Dagnet ,

    First time I heard of this, feels like I missed a huge opportunity

    weariedfae ,

    Same. I love me unlimited shrampies. I had no idea it was permanent on the menu.

    wreckedcarzz ,
    @wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world avatar

    permanent

    Well, not anymore...

    OldManBOMBIN OP ,

    Same here. It was always overshadowed by unlimited soup salad and bread sticks I guess.

    KingJalopy ,

    Of eating shitty frozen shrimp? No, no you did not miss an opportunity.

    downpunxx ,
    @downpunxx@fedia.io avatar

    all shrimp purchased in stores that aren't dockside are frozen. all shrimp purchased in restaurants that aren't dockside are frozen. shrimp are iced on the boats when they're caught, which .... wait for it .... freezes them. every single last one.

    KingJalopy ,

    So shrimp is shitty. Got it. Don't eat it anyway, because it's shit. No opportunity missed here.

    weariedfae ,

    Quantity + salt and butter > quality lol

    (Joking, fresh is best obvs.)

    NoIWontPickAName ,

    How’s the air feel with your nose that high up?

    weariedfae , (edited )

    Whut?

    Edit: like ...are you arguing that fresh seafood isn't inherently better than literally any other age of seafood because of course it is? I'm legit confused, lol.

    NoIWontPickAName ,

    You just come off very snobbish in that comment.

    Yes, obviously fresh food is best, but not everyone can have that.

    Maybe it’s just me

    weariedfae , (edited )

    Sorry? I was just joking around about shrimpfest.

    Edit: removed irrelevant personal story

    BradleyUffner ,

    "Stop liking what I don't like!"

    intensely_human ,

    I know right? We should sue them for insufficient advertising.

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