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Red Lobster Revival? Restaurant Chain Exits Bankruptcy With $60M In Funding, New CEO
The Daily Voice ^ | 09/17/2024 | Joe Lombardi

Posted on 09/17/2024 7:39:45 AM PDT by 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.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Food; Society
KEYWORDS: africanamericans; bankruptcy; canada; damolaadamolekun; dining; food; pfchang; redlobster; revival
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1 posted on 09/17/2024 7:39:45 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Will be called “Dead Lobster”?


2 posted on 09/17/2024 7:41:19 AM PDT by dynachrome (Auslander Raus!)
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To: SeekAndFind

I can see it now in the boardroom:

“well all you can eat crab legs almost killed us...”

“and all you can eat shrimp almost killed us”....

“Wait I got it! How about all you can eat lobster?!”


3 posted on 09/17/2024 7:41:25 AM PDT by iluvschnitzle (We should follow Ukraines example and resist the illegal invasion)
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To: SeekAndFind

4 posted on 09/17/2024 7:44:06 AM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
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To: SeekAndFind

Are they going to rename it China Star or similar?


5 posted on 09/17/2024 7:44:19 AM PDT by Leep (Re-elect deep state. 2024!)
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To: SeekAndFind

So, when does all the lobster you can eat meal deal start? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. That’s the one which started the problem!


6 posted on 09/17/2024 7:46:26 AM PDT by Lockbox (politicians, they all seemed like game show host to me.... Sting)
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To: SeekAndFind

I wonder if Red Lobster has a viable future with the right leadership? Can it reinvent itself to stay solvent even during what appears to be an imminent economy downturn?
That will be the key. Is there mo ney to be made, for example, if they offered an all-you-can-eat fried pollock special regularly? Does Red Lobster suffer from dine and dash thieves? Catholic churches near me do well offering weekly Lenten fish fry dinners of Walleye, fresh lake perch, and whitefish and some fast food chains like Culvers, etc also offer dinners and sandwich baskets during Lent holiday. Could this become an all year thing at Red Lobster?


7 posted on 09/17/2024 7:46:47 AM PDT by desertsolitaire ( Lee Harvey Oswald and the Bands final performance)
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To: SeekAndFind
Red Lobster used to own the property but Golden Gate Capital bought the chain and forced them to pay a lease. So now they're bankrupt.

This is a bad example of capitalism.

8 posted on 09/17/2024 7:48:06 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

And the vast majority of people are totally clueless as to who runs all these fast food companies.


9 posted on 09/17/2024 7:50:37 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: dynachrome

Ours closed. It’s DEAD, Jim..................


10 posted on 09/17/2024 7:52:13 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: dynachrome

lol and kek.

still, rooting for the lobstah!


11 posted on 09/17/2024 7:57:50 AM PDT by xoxox
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To: desertsolitaire

I think it will take equal parts of being better at basics and fundamentals and some reinvention of the Red Lobster dining experience.


12 posted on 09/17/2024 7:58:52 AM PDT by Wuli
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To: Lockbox
About 15 years ago, while in Chicago on a business trip. I went to a great seafood restaurant, called Pappadeaux. They had all the lobster you eat for $45.
So I planned all day in prepearations, eating very little.
My wife and I went, first in line. They brought 2 lovely lobsters on a huge tray, and all smiles from the staff.
Well..... 13 lobsters later between my wife and I, my last lobster, # 14 looked like it had AIS, all barnacle covered and sort of dead body gray color and was thrown at me with a scowl from the waiter.
WE GET the hint...
13 posted on 09/17/2024 8:05:44 AM PDT by midwest_hiker
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To: SeekAndFind

The Red Lobster near me always has a packed parking lot. I’ve never been in it.


14 posted on 09/17/2024 8:08:15 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: SeekAndFind

COOL! When does the endless shrimp promotion come back?

/s


15 posted on 09/17/2024 8:13:28 AM PDT by FrankRizzo890
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To: dynachrome

Sheesh back in the 90’s I’d eat at Red Lobster at least once a week. Where I worked there were only a handful of decent restaurants and we often had clients or vendors to take for lunch. It was pretty decent food. Don’t think I ever did the whole all you can eat lobster fest thing. I do like fish. It came with rice pilaf and vegetables. Seemed healthy at the time, and tasted good. Probably wasn’t as healthy as I thought at the time.

My friends took me back there during the pandemic. Every other table was closed for social distancing and the waitress wore one of those plastic face shields and gloves. Ruined the experience for me. No nostalgia. We had to wait 20 minutes for a table but I think that was only because half the tables were closed. That may be a contributing factor to their bankruptcy. Hard to recover from having half your business closed by mandate for nearly 2 years.


16 posted on 09/17/2024 8:15:20 AM PDT by monkeyshine (live and let live is dead)
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To: dynachrome

17 posted on 09/17/2024 8:17:18 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: MinorityRepublican

Sounds like improvements Romney would make.


18 posted on 09/17/2024 8:20:35 AM PDT by alternatives?
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To: Lockbox

Exactly. If Red Lobster 🦞 is smart, they’ll ditch the all you can eat meal plans.


19 posted on 09/17/2024 8:22:56 AM PDT by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
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To: SeekAndFind

20 posted on 09/17/2024 8:31:07 AM PDT by Tommy Revolts (,,)
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