“Last year, Red Lobster reported $11 million in operating losses following its flubbed ‘Ultimate Endless Shrimp’ deal, which backfired when it reeled in too many customers after the limited-time promo became a permanent menu fixture last June. The restaurant chain later reported $12.5 million in losses in the fourth quarter of 2023.”
Endless shrimp.
Ends.
Walks in, limits your shrimp, refuses not to elaborate, leaves the entire world.
Filing bankruptcy over 11 million? Really? Doesn’t seem like a lot for a big restaurant chain.
Well considering that I’m a “millennial” and literally not a single person I know has ever visited, requested, or mentioned Red Lobster as a restaurant choice… they might have deeper trouble than some shitty shrimp. Can’t run a business forever when your largest potential market is 65+…
The biscuits are the best part and they sell the mix, so not a lot of reason to visit if there’s any other options for seafood.
I live in Saskatchewan, which is as land locked as it gets in Canada. And for some reason, my city has a Red Lobster. I don’t think I’ve heard anyone talk about going to it because who would expect a seafood restaurant all the way out here to be good? I have no clue how they’re making enough money to operate.
(Also, nice pfp! 🐾 )
Everything in red lobster is frozen anyway.
But then again, all fish is frozen before being served to kill parasites. Even the most delicious sushi will be flash frozen first. I’ve had high end raw fish in Las Vegas, a literal dessert.
That said, yeah, Red Lobster isn’t going to be top notch on the coast, let alone butt fuck nowhere.
For me it’s just not really an option because there are no locations in Québec. The closest one is in Ottawa, two hours away.
It’s one of our favorite places to go eat when we go to Ottawa. It’s honestly not as bad as people say it is. The food is always great at that location.
@cyborganism @wreckedcarzz If you take internet reviews there are only three types of restaurants.
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Excellent places that deserve their Michelin Stars
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Excellent places that should have Michelin Stars
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Diarrhea fuel garbage pits. With food so disgusting you shouldn’t even feed it to the stray dog that bit your baby.
On our national deal hunting website you can see all the “It gives you diarrhea comments” every time there’s a coupon for McDonalds or franchised Shawarma
They always had the perception of expensive for me. So growing up, they were a special occasion place to get seafood. I’ve been a few times in the last few years. Their food was good, but not great and the places were never packed.
Between Red Lobster and almost any other seafood place, the other one would win out for taste and quality.
They had a huge marketing issue, offering “cheap” all you can eat, but making the place look and try to feel like a upscale option when it was basically a seafood Applebee’s.
this is hilarious fellow millennial, because I just went to Red Lobster today and had a great time.
Of course this was the first time I’ve been in 20+ years so it’s not like I’m a regular.
Why didn’t they stop doing it sooner? Lol once they saw it was costing too much they could have retired it and made up some new marketing crap.
Or… raised the price. You know… capitalism. They seemed to have failed econ 101. Or the bankruptcy is a good way to get out from under debt and start over. It’s the American way.
The endless shrimp reason is just BS.
They’re old restaurants and people just don’t go there to be “fancy” anymore. Younger people just don’t eat a lot of crab, shrimp, and lobster nowadays, and due to ocean issues crab prices and seafood prices have increased even more than beef and other food costs, so they’re having to charge more more things fewer people want to go there for. They keep hauling in more and more, but prices have tripled over the past 10 years or so for lobster. Same over the last several years with crab. Especially with the mass die off of snowcrab a year or so ago.
They tried all sorts of tricks actually. But this event brought people in. In the 90’s I’d see it on the local news about the hour long waits and whatnot. This was still true up until the last time I went.
I recall they slowed service, refill limits at a time, even type of order repeat(not getting 10 scampi in a row). I was a fan of the grilled shrimp and as a teen could eat 20 orders (a feat I’m not so proud of now). As an adult I stopped eating there when I realized what I was doing to my body (mid 00s).
I was never asked to leave due to the amount I ate, but I experienced some of these. damn if it wasn’t 5-10 minutes between food, couldn’t order more until you had cleared the only 2 plates allowed at a time, never find the waiter, etc. oh, and they would bring those ungodly amazing biscuits over, “to hold me over”.
I do not miss the man I was back then. I can honestly say I’m half the man I was then.
You can make the biscuits at home. I personally would find better recipes for much of the rest of their menu.
First time I heard of this, feels like I missed a huge opportunity
Same. I love me unlimited shrampies. I had no idea it was permanent on the menu.
So shrimp is shitty. Got it. Don’t eat it anyway, because it’s shit. No opportunity missed here.
Every time I went to get a “All you can eat” deal from places that weren’t normally a buffet you would have to wait for a waiter to bring you more and the waiter hates the extra trips to the table and/or the owner tells their employees to drag their feet bringing more and makes the amount they bring miniscule. Just an awful experience the couple times I tried.
I don’t go out to eat except for a Asian buffet a couple times a year. I’d rather eat cheetos in the basement.
Sorry mcdonalds and taco bell, your shit was barely worth it when it was cheap. Insane prices coming out of the fast food industry these days.
I own a oven and can buy frozen pizzas, get fucked.
