Red Lobster locations across the country started closing abruptly Monday, surprising residents and, at least in one case, a city official.
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(NEXSTAR) – Red Lobster locations across the country started closing abruptly Monday, surprising residents and, at least in one case, a city official.
As of Tuesday, 90 locations in 27 states were listed as "closed" on the restaurant's website.
Residents in Florida, New York, Iowa and Illinois, among others, found the stores suddenly shuttered.
“I was just notified by one of our local Red Lobster managers that after 31 years of serving our community, without notice, their parent company laid off the entire crew and closed the restaurant effective immediately,” Danville, Illinois Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. wrote in a Facebook post. “This is despite the fact that they were rated number 15 out of over 600 stores for customer service & satisfaction last year.”
The beleaguered seafood chain will be auctioning off the contents of 48 locations, according to a TAGeX brands, a restaurant supply liquidator. It's not clear if there are any plans to reopen the restaurants not listed.
Nexstar reached out to Red Lobster for more information about the closures but didn't receive a response as of publishing time.
Red Lobster owner Thai Union Group announced in January 2024 that it was looking to sell its stake in the brand, citing the impact of a "combination of [the] COVID-19 pandemic, sustained industry headwinds, higher interest rates and rising material and labor costs" on profits.
Back in April, Bloomberg and CNBC reported that the seafood chain, which has been a staple of the American restaurant scene for decades, considered filing for bankruptcy. Though, Red Lobster has not publicly confirmed this. The report noted that people who were familiar with the matter said Red Lobster was looking for restructuring advice to address leases and labor costs.
The company has faced some financial and internal challenges within the past few years. Between 2021 and 2022, the company welcomed a fresh lineup of executives, including a new CEO, chief marketing officer, chief financial officer, and chief information officer, according to CNN. All of them reportedly left within two years.
Then, there was the endless shrimp fiasco. In June 2023, the company offered its “Ultimate Endless Shrimp” — typically a limited offer — on their regular menu for $20. The attempt to get more people into the store worked, but it came at a cost.
Red Lobster posted an operating loss of more than $11 million in Q3 of that year, according to Restaurant Business. It’s a loss that parent company Thai Union Group said the endless shrimp deal was a “key factor” in creating.
These are the locations that appear closed, according to the Red Lobster website:
Jacksonville (Commerce Center Drive)
Jacksonville (Baymeadows Road)
Jacksonville (City Station Drive)
Created by Bill Darden, the first Red Lobster opened in 1968 in Lakeland, Florida, advertised as fresh seafood for people of all walks of life. As of Monday, the website claims that there are over 700 Red Lobster locations around the world.
Nexstar’s Bill Shannon and Brian Farrell contributed to this story.
