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.”
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There is a Cheddar's in my town that has an 8 ounce piece of salmon with two sides (the steamed broccoli is fabulous) for $9.99 and it is excellent.
If Red Lobster (two blocks up from Cheddar's)had equivalent entrees I'd go there, but they don't.
The fact that 99% of casino buffets feature unlimited crab and shrimp, along with a huge selection of other foods including desserts and a drink for one price isn’t mentioned for some reason. Almost everyone in North America is now within an hour of a casino.
Darden has been infected and dying since the day they joined arms with Moochelle. I know people who will never go there again because of her meddling with those restaurants.
I don’t know about the rest of the country, but here in Tucson RL’s prices are right in line with some of the best restaurants, almost the same as Cafe Poca Cosa, slightly cheaper than Kingfisher. Problem is the food at RL isn’t in that league. If you’re going to charge best restaurant in Tucson prices you need to actually be one of the best restaurants in Tucson. If they dropped their price 25 or 30% they’d be equitable.
I know what you mean about mom and pop type places. I agree.
In my area, there are a number of good local seafood restaurants. So as a result, never go to Red Lobster. The local places have better food, better prices, just a better value.
Ditto with Olive Garden. There a several family owned Italian restaurants in my area, which we go to instead of Olive Garden. Same story, better value and better food for the money.
I could even brag to liberals that I am supporting locally owned small businesses, as opposed to the chain restaurants, LOL.
In Huntsville, Alabama the Red Lobster and Olive Garden are always swamped with business. Prime meal time waits are routinely 45 minutes to 1 hour.
The big reason that these restaurants are suffering is the economy SUCKS! Inflation has run about 8% per year for the things I buy. I have not received anywhere near the raises to keep up with inflation the past 5 years.
I enjoy the occassional “expensive” dinner out as it gives me the rare opportunity to switch out of barnwear for a favorite dress and necklace. Sorry to say at Red Lobster last year, we were the only patrons that bothered to dress for dinner. Shorts and t-shirts seemed the trend of the day; I could just as well have come straight from the barn. I have to admit I felt a pang of resentment, maybe because the casualness of the other patrons had robbed us a bit of that specialness of ‘going out.’ I wonder if sit-down restaurants would have better success if they enforced a dress code to discern themselves from say, McDonalds.
“America’s changing eating habits are killing Red Lobster.”
Yup, I do longer want freshly microwaved fried shrimp with butter like something to dip it in.
RL still has a good double scotch in the bar/S sort of....
You just have to re-create Red Lobster at your house, and make a family gathering of it.
I so miss the old-school Red Lobster, with servers attending every table, not just theirs, and the Captain’s platter from the 80s that had lobster tail, shrimp scampi, fried shrimp, clams if you asked, with salad as the first course instead of cheese biscuits.
Back then the tropical drinks were affordable, and loosened up the atmosphere while everybody waited for their dinners.
So many people look like slobs nowadays. It’s as though they don’t care enough about themselves to make an effort.
They’re declining because there are quite a few regional concept chains that do the same thing better for similar or cheaper prices, with better locations and a better, cooler atmosphere and more personal service. Locally and in the southeast, Bonefish Grill would be one of them, http://www.bonefishgrill.com. I’d go there over Red Lobster any day.
I haven’t been in a Red Lobster in over a decade, and can’t honestly say I even know where the locations in my area are anymore. I recall them as seeming dated even then, from the menu offerings to the atmosphere and the building itself.
I know what you mean. I made paella for my office mates and was told it was restaurant quality. So we went to a restaurant and got some. Mine was much better. And what’s cool is that you can pick anything you want to cook/bake and there will be a plethora of youtube videos telling you how to do it.
They suck. End of story. If you don’t know what’s good by now ya never will!
THIS....plus the quality of their food has deteriorated.
Went to Chipotle once. Like eating in a warehouse. No ambience or atmosphere at all. Stupid seating arrangements, almost everything was highboy barstools.
VERY poor selection of food. Will never go back.
Maybe off topic, but this subject of dressing bugs me about church nowadays.
Years ago, everybody dressed in Sunday best. That’s where that term came from .
Now, you see people in tennis shorts, baggy pants, both male and female, so when they kneel down to pray, you see the great divide (I’m not joking), and t-shirts and ripped jeans.
While it’s nice in a way to see they are in church, I do miss that there are no dress codes in church anymore. It would be okay to have no code if people didn’t dress so sloppy, but, too many don’t give a blank.
The reason it’s failing is because its food sucks.
No one wants portion prepared meals that are so bland they could have well been microwaved.
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