Posted on 05/17/2014 4:37:41 PM PDT by rickmichaels
America's changing eating habits are killing Red Lobster.
The chain's parent company, Darden Restaurants, announced on Friday it was selling Red Lobster to a private-equity firm for $2.1 billion after years of sagging sales. While it may sound strange to call a chain with such a high price tag "dying," much of that $2.1 billion covers Red Lobster's real estate. What's left of the brand's value is "fairly minimal," Sterne Agee analyst Lynne Collier wrote in a note.
The cheddar-biscuit purveyor's demise is being hastened by a growing American preference for micro-managing meals that can be scarfed down quickly. The era of families sitting down to a meal conceived by food scientists and prepared in a kitchen they can’t see is fading. That is bad news for a host of other chains, including Olive Garden, which Darden still owns.
"Even as consumer spending has improved, many consumers have still been less willing to spend on sit-down meals," noted a recent report from market research firm IBISWorld. "Instead, consumers have shown a preference for cheaper fast-casual concepts.”
(Excerpt) Read more at huffingtonpost.com ...
Much cheaper to go eat at Mi Niditos. Oh how we miss that place!
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
They folded in Hyannis twenty years ago and in Bangor eight or ten years ago. How they ever thought that their packaged crud could compete with the real thing is beyond me.
Wife and I get less and less interested in eating out at all.
Dead Lobster in our area is packed most times. I can’t see paying the prices at OG for what amounts to just pasta, bread and salad. Not much else.
Someone said disposable income is vanishing. Yup. The nation is dying.
There is another reason Red Lobster is dying. Service and clientele. And overpriced food.
5years ago we stopped there as a family.It was not good and we were a minority and threaded badly.
I agree, but I still miss the ladies with the big hats.
This is the new world, like it or not. Those of us who don't understand the "do whatever you want" generations have the memories of times when things were different---and nicer!
How do you cook your baked potatoes? For many years I baked them in the oven, of course, and that was when all our children lived home. Now, to run an oven for 45-60 min. to cook two or three potatoes seems like a waste of electricity ($$$).
Here in Memphis, if you go to Cheddars, Red Lobster or Olive Garden, you will most definitely be the minority. I don’t understand how “they” can afford to eat at those places all the time and are driving much nicer vehicles than I am. I just don’t get it.
It doesn't cost any more to buy a couple of nice looking pullovers and pants for children than what one pays for any top and jeans.
I used to pick up real bargains for my little grandson at a consignment shop. They were in A-one condition, good-looking outfits. I sent him to daycare at my neighbor's house for 2-1/2 hours in the mornings. She told me he was the best-dressed child there!
Why? Because I wanted him to look his best.
Have you considered where they live compared to you? Are you paying mortgage on a home---or own one? How about them? My guess is that you and they have different values and that could be the explanation. It's not just in Memphis.
Let me know what you think.
I have no idea where to even find a Red Lobster——never been to one.
(I could search Google,I suppose,but I don’t really care.)
Say hello to Madame D.
.
Oh, those hats! I wore them and enjoyed them. The only place I see them any more is when I watch the Kentucky Derby on TV. At least those ladies are keeping them alive.
Let's not forget the English royalty. Though some of their hats can be quite outlandish, still others are lovely.
I haven't been to one since about 1989 or 90. The first time I went to one was when they first opened one in Sarasota, FL and couldn't understand why anyone would want to eat in a place like that when there was so much fresh seafood to be had locally.
Even that last time I ate in one, in Dover, DE, I couldn't understand why any of my friends who voted for it wanted to eat there. I understand the need for things like king and snow crab being frozen, but, to me, there is absolutely no excuse for using frozen fish and seafood that can be had fresh locally.
Say hello to Madame D.
Ditto!
BTW - Hi there Metesky and Mears - long time no chat - hope all be well with y'all!!!
You can believe they're both delicious.
Texas roadhouse is always packed.
That being said, I’d rather eat leftovers at home than a meal in a restaurant. Out kitchen is clean, our hands are clean, Mrs. Chandler is a great cook, and I even know how to cook a couple meals.
Besides, when I go to a restaurant, they insist that wear clothes.
Not only grilling. Slow cooking in a Dutch oven is awesome, too.
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