Red Lobster liquidating assets in largest liquidation of a chain restaurant in history

[Jman]

 

Unfortunately, all-you-can-eat shrimp was not cost-effective.

 

 

[naraku360]

5 hours ago, Jman said:

 

 

It was fuggs.

[Master-Debater131]

 

Seems appropriate

[katt_goddess]

3 hours ago, naraku360 said:

It was fuggs.

Gods damnit, I nearly choked on my coffee. 

That said, the one near me has managed to avoid the axe this time around. But now I'm seriously considering getting something to-go maybe Saturday after work. It's been over 20 years since I went there, it might be nice to have a seafood something I didn't ruin first.  

[Insipid]

I'd actually be sad if all Red Lobsters closed. It's not the best, I know, but the cheddar biscuits, clam chowder, lobster bisque, and caesar salad are bomb.

[Raptorpat]

I remember in undergrad, my business ethics professor was retelling a conversation he had with someone from red lobster corporate about how they needed to plan for the fact that the restaurant as-is only had about a decade left in it. Kinda tracks.

[discolé monade]

not a fan of the place, BUT i did have to learn how to make those damn biscuits. hot damn those are good.

and someoneeeeee.....gonna be maaaaaaaaad. 

 the name sounds like fuggs. 

 

[Icarus27k]

I know a guy who moved to Japan and has made a life for himself there. He was the one who broke this news to me. "Did you hear about Red Lobster?" 

It must be pretty serious if the breaking Red Lobster news is making it all the way to Japan. 

[The_annoying_one]

I’ve had Red Lobster exactly one time, and….well, the salad was decent. That’s probably the only kind thing I can say about them.

[Seight]

I forgot where but I read an article last week where an analyst said Red Lobster wasn't just losing market share to other seafood restaurants, but also losing market share to steakhouses that also sell seafood.

[Jman]

All I know is that someone better keep selling the cheddar biscuit mix for home.

[scoobdog]

15 hours ago, Seight said:

I forgot where but I read an article last week where an analyst said Red Lobster wasn't just losing market share to other seafood restaurants, but also losing market share to steakhouses that also sell seafood.

I find that genuinely disturbing because it suggests that Americans might be moving away from seafood as a staple in their diet. 

[naraku360]

5 minutes ago, scoobdog said:

I find that genuinely disturbing because it suggests that Americans might be moving away from seafood as a staple in their diet. 

I don't think Red Lobster represents seafood as a dietary staple....

[Jman]

6 minutes ago, naraku360 said:

I don't think Red Lobster represents seafood as a dietary staple....

If anything the reasons blamed for the financial hit suggests we like seafood a bit too much.

[scoobdog]

22 minutes ago, naraku360 said:

I don't think Red Lobster represents seafood as a dietary staple....

It would be the largest seafood specific nationwide chain with comparatively little competition.  It brings seafood to interior areas that wouldn't normally have a lot of options for seafood.

But, that wouldn't be the point.  The idea that a steakhouse might be a better option for a food is concerning for a couple of reasons.

1. Steakhouses don't typically serve a full selection of fish - for the most part, they serve crab, lobster, shrimp on the regular menu, and, occasionally, a white fish as a special.  Red Lobster losing market share to these guys would at the very least suggest that Americans have a more limited palate when it comes to the fruits of the ocean.
2. Obviously, seafood is only a secondary option in a place that specializes in red meat, while it is the primary focus (for better or worse) of Red Lobster.  Chances are you're not going to Black Angus to get a rubbery lobster tail, you're going to get an overcooked steak and the rubbery lobster tail is a side dish option if you're feeling a little adventurous... or your doctor told you you're eating too much red meat.

None of this to suggest that Red Lobster is a great place to get seafood:  it's mediocre at best.  It just happens to be the best seafood option for people who don't have access to fresh seafood.  People moving away from it in places where there are no other options pretty strongly suggest that seafood itself is less popular.

[discolé monade]

1 hour ago, scoobdog said:

I find that genuinely disturbing because it suggests that Americans might be moving away from seafood as a staple in their diet. 

no. i don't think that's it. 

more like, follow the money.

[discolé monade]

11 minutes ago, scoobdog said:

 

None of this to suggest that Red Lobster is a great place to get seafood:  it's mediocre at best.  It just happens to be the best seafood option for people who don't have access to fresh seafood.*****  People moving away from it in places where there are no other options pretty strongly suggest that seafood itself is less popular.

***** poor people. you mean poor people. 

[André Toulon]

There are no red lobsters in Southern Louisiana, I dated a chick from Monroe (north Louisiana) and she suggested reb lobster and I was like I thought that was a California thing ...I had never seen one down here.

Ive been once, and I ordered a sampler...it was pretty trash...unseasoned bullshit. I honestly have no clue how they stayed open or why some people were so excited by it. 

I hear people praise the cheddar biscuits but you've just never had a stuffed creole roll. 

And I'm not even sure how it's considered a cheap option... everything there is like $20 a plate but if you lived where seafood was accessible, you could get bottomless shrimp anywhere for about $12 and have other options.

Frankly, I say good riddance, but I know I'm in the minority 

[discolé monade]

1 minute ago, André Toulon said:

 

Frankly, I say good riddance, but I know I'm in the minority 

no you're not. it was trash. the biscuits aren't anything but some garlic butter poured over after baking, and cheese in the batter. eh. 

 

i think i hated them since they pretty much wiped out arther treacher's. now that place was pretty great. fish n chips. 

[scoobdog]

19 minutes ago, discolé monade said:

***** poor people. you mean poor people. 

Well, no..  Red Lobster isn't cheap, which is part of the problem.  It may not be luxury prices like a local chain on the coasts, but it's not something that a middle class consumer can go to regularly either.

26 minutes ago, discolé monade said:

more like, follow the money.

That is no doubt a factor.  Making seafood affordable is the best way to ensure it can be sustainable, though sustainability is in no way beholden to affordability.  Putting in the money and effort to make seafood a reliably renewable resource is only possible when its simultaneously accessible to the most number of consumers.

[discolé monade]

i half joke. when red lobster first came on the scene, it catered to 'middle class'. but as you and i know, middle class descended into just above poverty. 

eh....who cares. 

good riddence. 

[Raptorpat]

29 minutes ago, discolé monade said:

i think i hated them since they pretty much wiped out arther treacher's. now that place was pretty great. fish n chips. 

totally unrelated to anything at all, but I have a core traumatic memory of being at the mall with my great aunt (whose name is not Karen) as a little kid, and going to the arthur treachers in the food court.

she asked, probably with a super book coupon in hand, if they could do double fries instead of fries/coleslaw and the teen at the register said no, so she raised a scene and said "we can't eat here" and took me somewhere else.

[scoobdog]

28 minutes ago, discolé monade said:

i half joke. when red lobster first came on the scene, it catered to 'middle class'. but as you and i know, middle class descended into just above poverty. 

eh....who cares. 

good riddence. 

So trufax.... I goat a stomach ache after eating there most times.  One time I even puked.  I personally can't stand the place, but my brother likes the salads and the crab.  So, I usually just tough it out so he can enjoy it.

It's not an issue because there a so many other options.  There are even a few fish fast casual places around here that are simpler and easier.

[katt_goddess]

4 hours ago, discolé monade said:

i half joke. when red lobster first came on the scene, it catered to 'middle class'. but as you and i know, middle class descended into just above poverty. 

eh....who cares. 

good riddence. 

I remember finding out about Red Lobster. It was considered THE fancy place to brag about having been. I think the one time I actually managed to get to one, it was for my birthday in college and I got the cheapest sampler possible because I was a broke-ass-broke and I don't think they really had any sort of birthday special worth remembering [ probably a free alcoholic drink which I wouldn't have been able to have anyway ]. 

I think eating there now causes poverty. I was looking at the menu for a potential 'feeling fancy one last time' meal and everything is like $40 except the plain salad. Makes me wonder why the one near me is always full. Where are these old farts getting enough money to go early birding at Red frickin' Lobster? 

[Sieg67]

The only time I went there was after I was given a 50 dollar gift card.   Still ended up paying 20 out of pocket.

[Jman]

 

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is official.  Best be hoarding them biscuits.

[katt_goddess]

Welp, guess I'll be making a Red Lobster to-go run Friday after work. 

Filing doesn't mean 'closing ASAP', it's usually just a means of holding off creditors while the business attempts to refigure things out. 

But I'm not taking any chances, I want an overpriced rubber biscuit tail. 

[Seight]

6 hours ago, Jman said:

This burns my (cheddar bay) biscuits.

[katt_goddess]

On 5/20/2024 at 3:39 PM, katt_goddess said:

Welp, guess I'll be making a Red Lobster to-go run Friday after work. 

Filing doesn't mean 'closing ASAP', it's usually just a means of holding off creditors while the business attempts to refigure things out. 

But I'm not taking any chances, I want an overpriced rubber biscuit tail. 

I ate too much. 

Also, today I learned that the lobster tail that looks so massive is just the tail meat cut out of the tail and displayed on top for easier access. 

I'd feel cheated but I'm trying to figure out which end will relieve the most pressure right now.