Erin McDowell/Business Insider
Red Lobster's new CEO said the chain's revamped menu — which no longer includes its infamous "endless shrimp" promotion — has already started to help turn things around at the struggling company.
Damola Adamolekun, the 35-year-old business executive who became the youngest-ever Red Lobster chief in August, told Bloomberg on Wednesday that the company saw increased sales over the past weekend after launching its new menu earlier this month.
The seafood chain exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy under new ownership in September after filing in March with more than $1 billion in debt.
Since stepping into the top role, Adamolekun has been vocal about the failings of Red Lobster's endless shrimp promotion, telling The Wall Street Journal in September that it was the "nail in the coffin" for the company.
In 2023, the long-running chain made the once-limited-time offer of $20 endless shrimp a permanent menu fixture in an effort to get more customers in the door. But the change-up backfired big time.
"Financially, it didn't make sense," Adamolekun told The Journal. "The cost of the product that was being given away was greater than the cost of the product that the consumers were paying for."
The company ultimately blamed an $11 million loss in the third quarter of 2023 on the promotion, saying that too many people took advantage of the low-margin offer.
Adamolekun, however, is looking to leave the endless shrimp disaster in the past. The millennial CEO told Bloomberg that the restaurant is freshening up both its menu and atmosphere, as Adamolekun aims to get more people his age into Red Lobsters around the country.
"Countless people grew up going to Red Lobster at important times in their lives," Adamolekun told the outlet. "Our job is to restore it so that generations to come can continue to do so."
The new menu, though 20% smaller than the previous menu, features seven new items, Today reported earlier this month. While customers won't be able to order unending amounts of shrimp, they will have their choice between bacon-wrapped sea scallops, lobster bisque, new pasta dishes, and fan-favorite hush puppies, which hadn't been available at the restaurant for several years, the outlet reported.
The former P.F. Chang's CEO said the chain will use social media to target younger consumers and is already working on securing celebrity partnerships to boost the restaurant's profile.
"There's been so much turmoil around the business that some people just opted out," Adamolekun told Bloomberg. "You lost some customers in all the noise, so we want to invite these people back to the restaurant and give them a reason to come back."
