Red Lobster Revival? Restaurant Chain Exits Bankruptcy With $60M In Funding, New CEO

The Daily Voice ^ | 09/17/2024 | Joe Lombardi

[SeekAndFind]

Four months after its Chapter 11 filing, restaurant chain Red Lobster says it has exited bankruptcy led by new management.

The company announced on Monday, Sept. 16 that it's been acquired by lender group RL Investor Holdings with $60 million in new funding backed by Fortress Investment Group.

Damola Adamolekun, former chief executive officer at Asian fusion casual dining chain P.F. Chang’s, is now running Red Lobster.

The move comes after the chain, founded in 1968, abruptly closed dozens of locations earlier this year. It still has 544 locations across 44 US states and four provinces in Canada.

"Red Lobster has a tremendous future, and I cannot wait to get started on our plan with the Company’s more than 30,000 team members across the USA and Canada," the 35-year-old Adamolekun said on Monday.

[Rockingham]

Red Lobster began in Lakeland, Florida, was headquartered in Orlando, and was based on a long popular seafood restaurant there (Gary's Duck In) that thrived off business lunches and family dinners. As with Red Lobster, the large menu meant that just about everyone in a group could find seafood or something else to their liking.

As with Gary's, the weak points with Red Lobster were the time it took to eat there, the costs for food, real estate, and employees, and the large and at times unwieldy menu that challenged kitchen and service staff. In addition, early investment money in Red Lobster included the Mafia and they sometimes compromised business decisions. My guess is that there is still a place for a better managed Red Lobster -- now without any menacing men from Tampa demanding special concessions.

[Responsibility2nd]

A great Backstory on the failures of Red Lobster

https://www.sltrib.com/news/nation-world/2024/09/15/red-lobster-endless-shrimp-what/

Greed, gluttony and the crackup of Red Lobster

[Responsibility2nd]

Red Lobster has had lots of buyers. Each losing lots of money...

 

Red Lobster has had several ownership changes since its inception in 1968. Here’s a brief overview of its ownership history:

1. Founders (1968): Red Lobster was founded by Bill Darden and Charley Woodsby in Lakeland, Florida.
2. General Mills (1970): The company was acquired by General Mills when it had only five locations, which allowed for rapid expansion.
3. Darden Restaurants (1995): In 1995, General Mills spun off its restaurant division, including Red Lobster, into a separate publicly traded company known as Darden Restaurants.
4. Golden Gate Capital (2014): Darden sold Red Lobster to Golden Gate Capital, a private equity firm, for approximately $2.1 billion.
5. Thai Union Group (2016 - Present): Thai Union, a seafood supplier, acquired a 25% stake in Red Lobster in 2016 and later purchased the remaining shares in 2020, becoming the largest shareholder until recently.
6. Recent Developments (2024): As of September 2024, Red Lobster has emerged from bankruptcy and is now an independent company with new ownership and management.

In summary, Red Lobster has had at least five distinct ownership phases since its founding.

[Responsibility2nd]

I for one knows who owns the corportations that own these companies.

[Flavious_Maximus]

They hired a 35 year old Nigerian as CEO.

[HenpeckedCon]

They need to make better business decisions, like not opening a restaurant in freakin Hyannis. It lasted about a month. This was years ago, but still.

[logi_cal869]

Should be. They’ve been dead to me for >decade since I last wandered in there on my birthday.

Most disgusting seafood meal I’ve ever been served (sent it back without paying and left).

Never been back, won’t ever reconsider. 1 local option with limited menu, or a 45-minute (minimum, depending on destination) drive to the coast.

[mowowie]

There is a Top notch buffet in RI that serves all you can eat lobster among many other yummy quality goodies.
https://thenordic.com/
My Gf wants to go, it’s a kinda long drive from my Boston suburb, BUT All you can eat lobster!
Two problems with that.
1: $140 per person
2: I cannot eat lobster.....eating a bug grosses me out.

Maybe you others might be interested..

[mowowie]

....Like putting a clam shack franchise in Ipswich?

[HenpeckedCon]

Wow, this one’s a blast from the past.