Beloved sea food chain Red Lobster have announced plans to close 23 more locations, having already closed over 100 stores.
The chain had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and has blamed their famous All-You-Can-Eat Shrimp deal for much of their losses.
Bankruptcy Closures
Court documents filed on Thursday in a Florida bankruptcy court confirmed that Red Lobster is exercising its rights to lease 23 locations.
Among the states impacted by the new wave of closures are New York, California and Ohio.
When Will Restaurants Close?
Red Lobster plans to vacate the 23 restaurants by August 31st.
Additionally, Red Lobster has requested a court hearing for August 29th.
Previous Closures
Suffering from ongoing poor sales, Red Lobster closed seven stores in July.
The states impacted by the July closures were Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, California, Texas and Florida.
More Losses For Red Lobster
In 2023, Red Lobster suffered $11 million in Q3 losses.
Later, Red Lobster would report $12.5 million in losses in the fourth quarter of the year.
History of Red Lobster
Bill Darden opened the first Red Lobster in Lakeland, Florida in 1968, and the store spread rapidly after catching the attention of General Mills in 1970.
At the peak of its success, the chain had over 650 restaurants open in the US and internationally.
Is All-You-Can-Eat Shrimp To Blame?
Following its third-quarter earnings report in 2023, Red Lobster reported that $11 million in losses were due purely to the All-You-Can-Eat shrimp offer.
The chain had added endless shrimp to the menu permanently in hopes of increasing sales.
List of Impacted States
The newly announced 23 closures will impact 14 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.
Worst impacted among those states are Florida, Illinois and Virginia – each of which will see three stores close down.
Other Stores Struggling
Red Lobster is not alone in its financial struggles. Furniture company Conn’s HomePlus had said it will shut all 170 of it’s stores after filing for bankruptcy.
Badcock Furniture & More are also set to close all of their locations after declaring bankruptcy.
Silence From Red Lobster
Amidst news of more closures, many have criticised Red Lobster for not being more open about the company’s decisions.
The company has yet to issue a statement about the closures and hasn’t posted on it’s X/Twitter page since April 15th.
