- Red Lobster emerged from bankruptcy in September.
- Now, the chain has to find a new strategy to bring in customers that’s not just endless shrimp.
- I visited a Red Lobster restaurant in the Washington, DC, area to see what dining there is like.
Red Lobster has emerged from bankruptcy and has a new CEO. Now, it just needs to win customers back with something other than the promise of endless shrimp.
As recently as last year, diners could pay $20 for all of the shrimp they could eat. But while customers loved it (maybe too much), the deal led to losses for Red Lobster’s former parent company.
The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May and emerged from bankruptcy in mid-September with new ownership led by Fortress Investment Group, a new CEO, and fewer locations. It just has to figure out a strategy to win customers back — and make money this time.
Damola Adamolekun, Red Lobster’s new CEO, told CNN in October that he wants to add flashier menu items, such as food served on sizzling-hot stone plates, to attract younger customers. At the same time, Red Lobster is holding on to some current menu items, such as flounder, to appeal to older patrons.
Adamolekun isn’t totally opposed to bringing back endless shrimp, though he said the chain would have to find a better approach. “I never want to say never, but certainly not the way that it was done,” he told CNN.
I visited a Red Lobster outside of Washington, DC, in September to see what dining there is like and what the chain needs to change going forward. Here’s what I found:
