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Iconic but pretty shitty restaurant
Economy Red Lobster closing more than 50 restaurants auctioning off furniture and equipment as it prepares to file for bankruptcy
- Thread starter White Whale
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I had an aunt who loved Red Lobster and I have fond memories of taking her there once I graduated and had a little money. Red Lobster was never fine dining but my aunt liked what she liked and I loved taking her there.
As for the chain itself, management and private equity had more do with it going bankrupt as anything else. The long term owners sold out to a SF PE firm called Golden Gate about 10 years ago. The finance guys sold all the real estate and then leased it back to the restaurants. It all looks good on a spreadsheet and Golden Gate probably came out money ahead just from the real estate play. But the downside is that restaurants are cyclical businesses and owning your own property and therefore not having to pay rent, is a major advantage in down times. Thanks to the finance bros, that buffer was gone.
Golden Gate unloaded the company about 5 years ago to the corporation who owns the Chicken of the Sea brand. They also had no experience running a restaurant chain and other than vague talk about synergies (seafood!) they ran it into the ground.
As for the chain itself, management and private equity had more do with it going bankrupt as anything else. The long term owners sold out to a SF PE firm called Golden Gate about 10 years ago. The finance guys sold all the real estate and then leased it back to the restaurants. It all looks good on a spreadsheet and Golden Gate probably came out money ahead just from the real estate play. But the downside is that restaurants are cyclical businesses and owning your own property and therefore not having to pay rent, is a major advantage in down times. Thanks to the finance bros, that buffer was gone.
Golden Gate unloaded the company about 5 years ago to the corporation who owns the Chicken of the Sea brand. They also had no experience running a restaurant chain and other than vague talk about synergies (seafood!) they ran it into the ground.
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My old man used to take me to Red Lobster all the time when I was a kid. He'd buy me a Happy Meal next door and then chow down on Lobster. Honestly I know it's not fine dinning by any means but it holds a special place in my heart. Those biscuits are the best.
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This is truly a sign of the apocalypse. You fucking idiot.
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That place has been going downhill for years. They don't even have crab cakes on the menu anymore.
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I have sympathy for people that lost their jobs and businesses. Feeling bad people must be a foreign concept for you since you constantly joke on other people's misfortunes.
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In the two posts you made that I responded to you only mentioned how Red Lobster closing is going to hurt the economy as a whole. That is a stupid thought and you are stupid for thinking it.
If you had said you felt bad for some people losing their jobs that would be different. I worked at Red Lobster as a teen. It's not a super specialized job, the staff that are losing their jobs are highly likely to get jobs at restaurants that people are actually eating at.
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Red Lobster is just one of the many businesses in trouble. Many small businesses are struggling. McDonald's sales are dropping to the point where they are heavily promoting a five dollar meal deal.
Red Lobster is just one of the many things showing the economy is not in good shape.
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Originally, they were. It was the first restaurant Bill Darden started. He's dead now, and Darden Restaurants sold them off years ago.
I don't know why you laugh at this. They are still a major chain. It's the largest seafood franchise in the USA. At their peak, Red Lobster was so large that over 50% of seafood served in sit down restaurants in the USA as tracked by restaurant association was served by them, or something like that. In 2019, before COVID hit, they did $2.6bn in sales. Unlike fast food restaurants, those sales furnish a labor force of which roughly half earns tips. Those are good jobs.
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@Clippy Is allergic to crustaceans
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lol at all the right wingers in here acting busted up over the loss of Red fucking Lobster. And since Biden is president, it’s obviously his fault that this chain is going out of business and definitely not because people don’t like eating there anymore
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Ok so now you have forgotten the poor workers again and you are talking about how poor McDonald's is being forced to offer cheap food.
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If you bothered reading the quote that I replied to you'd see that I was laughing about a moron claiming that some Red Lobster stores closing will hurt the economy. It won't. I am certain that the employees of the "nearly 50" restaurants will find other jobs at restaurants that people actually go to and there will be no economic collapse because of this.
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The issue is that it appears the restaurant could be in peril, and yes, even on a national scale, when a restaurant that does billions of dollars in sales every year can't stay solvent, it negatively affects the economy. Temporarily closing nearly 90 locations including permanently closing almost 50 is a big deal. It's a tiny piece of a big picture, but it's not good news from an economic standpoint.
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Keep raising prices, you think people can afford lobster? Its crazy how we are basicly in a recession, without aknowledging we are in a recession. And idiots want to vote for Biden. God i hope people are smart enough to vote "OTHER"
They should just change there name to Red Imitation Lobster and start serving sirloin and imitation lobster cakes.
They should just change there name to Red Imitation Lobster and start serving sirloin and imitation lobster cakes.
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I know being both ignorant and a prick is kind of your thing, but how in the shit do you read about an established chain that's been around since the 60s having to abruptly close a bunch of locations during rising unemployment, rising inflation and a big GDP miss, and decide it probably means it's just them and other restaurants and small businesses must be kicking ass?
10 Restaurant Chains Closing Locations In 2024
From Cracker Barrel to Outback, these restaurant chains have closed or are planning to close multiple locations this year.
www.eatthis.com
41 locations of Outback, Carrabba’s and Bonefish Grill have closed
Outback Steakhouse parent company Bloomin’ Brands has shuttered 41 “underperforming locations.”
www.today.com
From T.J. Maxx to Walgreens: The Major Stores You'll See Less of in 2024
From T.J. Maxx to Walgreens, these are the big-name retailers that are undergoing massive store closures in 2024.
bestlifeonline.com
Many small business owners see 2024 as a 'make or break' year, survey shows
About 40% of small business owners think 2024 will be a “make or break” year for their business, according to a survey by messaging service Slack.
apnews.com
NEW YORK (AP) — About 40% of small business owners think 2024 will be a “make or break” year for their business, according to a survey by messaging service Slack.
After several years of dealing with the pandemic, rising inflation and a tight job market, some small businesses — 32% of respondents — aren’t sure they’ll make it through 2024.
