What REALLY Killed Red Lobster

Seafood chain Red Lobster has filed for bankruptcy after an unfortunate series of events that dwindled earnings. Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian discuss on The Young Turks. Your Support is Crucial to the Show: tyt.com/team
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"Red Lobster, the largest seafood restaurant chain in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy after failing to recover from dwindling traffic it suffered during the pandemic as menu prices crept higher. An unlimited shrimp deal also took a bite out of earnings.
The chain plans to sell its business in the bankruptcy process, with lenders led by Fortress Credit designated as the bidder to beat. It also plans to reduce the number of restaurants it operates."
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240520__TB03RedLobster

[@jakkimanzitti5031]

Same thing that kills every business in USA. The top brass got overpaid, over vacationed & over perked while the regular staff got underpaid, no vacation and definitely no perks! Greed runs it all into the ground.

[@antclerfont8478]

Baked in Model.

[@BobZombie8806]

And it’s glorious

[@RailpaxScott]

No wonder Red Lobster workers cared nothing about customer service or quality. Dirty restaurants as well.

[@gabrielsamson-ed4eg]

Satan the devil love his followers, evil attitude.

[@Kuzey457]

The oxymoron of "success."

[@hooplawithbilliesue8143]

That's how private equity destroys a brand named company. Steal all the real estate and run with the money.

[@kenofken9458]

They're predators and scavengers. They create no value.

[@noel7777noel]

The math scam. My rent is "market value". My landlord has a third-party, not-for-profit mortgage. And rents to me a cognitive dissonance of a for-profit banking system. Basically, I pay my landlord's mortgage for him. Basically, my landlord is the forth-party banking criminal. I can't exactly get a mortgage myself. My landlord has the property held hostage. A four party banking scam. Because. Technically, all weath is leveraged. But four parties leveraged is where the scam lies.

[@greenjelly01]

We need an app that announces every private equity takeover, so we can immediately start avoiding that business.

[@kenofken9458]

@@greenjelly01 If we avoided all of those businesses, we'd be left drinking water from puddles and making our own loin cloths from animal skins.

[@greenjelly01]

@@kenofken9458 Not really. There are plenty of publicly traded and local mom and pop stores to go to depending on your preference. We need to make these private equity hawks realize there is no profit in buying businesses and running them to the ground.

[@jeremymoser7754]

The Corporate raiders ran the business into the ground and then blamed their customers for their failure.

[@mamatrain100]

The instant you said private equity I knew everything I needed to know.

[@JoaqMan]

It’s what killed Sears amongst other notable chains

[@erich6860]

Same. I saw a few conversations on tik tok about it... I said. "It cannot be one bad promotion, there is something else".... And there was. LOL

[@ytechnology]

@@JoaqMansame with Toys R Us.

[@TheTruthDragonNJ09]

@@ytechnology AND KB Toys.

[@celieboo]

"They sold it to a private equity firm. . . ." And there you go, folks. Private equity buying any business will be the death of that business.

[@kellygreenii]

Which is why they used to be called “corporate raiders” back in the 80s. They are never looking to improve a business. They look for business that are undervalued. They swoop in, strip out any capital assest, sell them off….then load the company up with debt. Give themselves massive checks to extract that wealth…then discard the husk. Rinse and repeat. They have been the death of many a well-known and (previously) well-run business.

[@noel7777noel]

Yeah, forth-party leveraged is a banking fraud. The rent ends up being "market value". AKA an economic bubble.

[@justinhensley4041]

I have NEVER been to a Red Lobster and it be PACKED and CROWDED of customers. Private equity isn’t killing them. Lack of sales is. If your business is a ghost town, you shouldn’t be in business.

[@kellygreenii]

@justinhensley4041 That’s what private equity does. It extracts all the value out of a business, by loading it up with debt…cutting costs. So the customer experience deteriorates and the business slowly dies. Which is why they used to be called “corporate raiders”.

[@user-eh3fe9dv7v]

I used to service Red Lobster for years on the distribution side. It was a very difficult account to work with and most employees hated it including me. It does make me sad to see them decline because growing up Red Lobster was respected by almost everyone as way to experience seafood without going to an east coast city. The private equity sale was a predetermined death for them. Private equity firms are the devil in a business suit.

[@justinhensley4041]

No what killed Red Lobster is them being empty. I have never been in one and it be packed and thriving. You can’t run a business if you’re getting zero customers. It’s basic economics.

[@jacobhholt]

What ended Red Lobster? Giving away the "secret CrabbyPatty formula" to their butter garlic biscuits.

[@BillCarson-zn9gx]

Crab meat. Mr. Krabbs is a homicidal cannibal

[@cydonia3167]

When private equity gets involved it's only a matter of time before the business is pillaged and left for dead. RIP Red Lobster.

[@justinhensley4041]

Has nothing to do with private equity and everything to do with running a poor business. If you have no customers and your place stays a ghost town. That’s not private equity fault. That’s your fault. You have to have customers.

[@user-jt7bx3ek8w]

@@justinhensley4041 they are the quik money of the financial system. funny thing is they (private equity) are horrible at what they claim to do. financial system is full of scam artist and questionable business practices draped in emerging market language

[@OhNotThat]

Surprised they didn't claim it was shoplifting for their business failing. Which is the usual go to excuse for business incompetence and/or equity firm raid and plunders

[@shaunsides5152]

Private equity firm Translation: "we'll be bankrupt in ten years or less"

[@RodT87]

Whenever you hear private equity bought a company you can look for people to be fired and companies to close. Its what they do.

[@justinhensley4041]

Maybe because the places they buy tend to be DYING. Red Lobster has been a ghost town the past years. I’ve never seen my local one really packed. It’s nobody’s fault if you get zero customers. You need sales to stay alive. No need to blame private equity for that.

[@JimmyJohnson-uq6um]

Over Priced. Corporate greed is what is destroying this country.

[@londamull7501]

They do this same thing with nursing homes. They buy them and sell all the assets, then lease the land and buildings back. Eventually, the nursing homes can't afford it and go out of business, but the investors still own all the assets and because they are a separate entity, the investors just walk away with all the assets. This should be illegal.

[@lhndz16]

DEFINITELY! This should NEVER be allowed!

[@saratemp790]

I wonder what kind of law they could write to prevent that. Maybe they have some kind of five year lease on the rent. They don't get the quick sale that way.

[@nightfall3605]

Same with hospitals. And if one goes out of business, it just drives business to the others they own in the area. No cost to them if more people die in ambulances because the drive is longer.

[@moonlit85]

Good. Because otherwise homes wouldn't exist in the first place. Nursing homes are a failing business model. It isn't sustainable, selling a unit in a nursing home w/fixed costs.

[@nightfall3605]

@@moonlit85 your argument is flawed because private equity didn’t start them “in the first place”. They buy up successful businesses (some not-for-profit) and then take advantage of these people’s situations (under contract, no where else to go) to squeeze the maximum profits from them. THAT’S what is unsustainable.

[@tammileroux3329]

More evidence of bad corporate management

[@dclaet1135]

Red Lobster was legitimately good in the 90's. Just about every popular chain restaurant back then from TGIF to even fast food places like Taco Bell has gone to hell since then. Cutting corners left and right, has left Red Lobster a shell of its former self. No pun intended.

[@justinhensley4041]

Taco Bell hasn’t gone to hell. They still remain popular as ever. Just because you don’t like it, your opinion doesn’t matter. I see Taco Bell’s staying busy. You wanna talk about dying fast food places, look at Burger King, KFC, Long John silvers, Subways. Those stay empty.

[@dclaet1135]

$6 Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there who don't understand the argument of voting with their wallet.

[@andrethegiant2877]

I can tell you what happened, restaurants got way too expensive so we learned how to cook. Same with bars. Perhaps you could lower prices instead of raising them....

[@Hathur]

I can either A) Go to a burger joint, spend $10 on large quality burger.... or B) Buy ground beef at the supermarket and make 9 to 10 LARGER burgers at home for the same price (sometimes nearly double that amount when I can find ground beef on sale for a good price every couple months). Yes, it takes a bit of time to make, but I have saved a couple thousand dollars over the past few decades by doing this. And there are countless good recipes, I'm no chef, I just find great recipes online and they make it easy. I can spend 30 to 40 minutes on a weekend and make 20+ beef burger patties, store them in the freezer and make burgers for the next month or 2. Total cost is like $20, plus a little extra for the bun / bread (I use whole grain bread, not buns since white bread is garbage). Meanwhile that same amount of burgers would've cost me $200 at a burger joint.

[@alfx5432]

I stopped going to bars so long ago, not worth the chances of getting a DUI , The Police State we live in now is killing Restaurant and Bars I'm suer. It's all about money.

[@ilikeducksable]

Restaurants don’t have higher prices just because they feel like it, they suffer from inflation (food costs, labor costs, leasing costs, etc). Complaining that restaurants are more expensive is like complaining that your paint is peeling when it’s because your home is on fire.

[@davidwilliams1086]

Greed Killed the golden goose.

[@SlikLizrd]

YEP. And the Golden Corral, too !! 😁

[@justinhensley4041]

It’s not greed that killed it. It’s them not having any customers lmao.

[@thatguyjoe007]

TYT decided to get out of politics. That was a smart move.

[@paulkersey724]

Anyone remember sizzler? They were better than red lobster back in the day. They were bought out and lowered their quality drastically. People stopped going and they eventually closed their doors. I honestly dont know how red lobster has managed to hold on this long. They have sucked since at least 2014.

[@dclaet1135]

I used to love that place. Sad times how it went downhill and eventually closed.

[@MastersReMASTER]

This whole video could be summed up as, "Red Lobster went bankrupt because of bad business practices." it wasn't the publics' fault.

[@justinhensley4041]

Actually it is the public’s fault. Funny how everytime I go to Red Lobster it’s empty. But I go to Texas Roadhouse or Applebee’s it’s packed. If nobody goes to your business you will go OUT OF BUSINESS. It’s basic economics.

[@MastersReMASTER]

@@justinhensley4041 That’s a very basic way to look at it but ok. Your experience at red lobster is reflective of every Red Lobster in America, which makes your point true! Oh goodness me🙄

[@justinhensley4041]

@@MastersReMASTER Sometimes the reality is very basic. I’ve never seen a thriving company with a lot of sales go out of business. It’s always the ones that nobody goes to.

[@cmack7281]

Red Lobster should've brought their shrimp from Bubba/Gump Shrimping Company 🍤⛵😁

[@projectgraham414]

Wow this is dirtier than I thought. F private equity firms. I've hated them since Cerberus bought Chrysler years ago, and I was working at a Dodge dealership.

[@NoWay1969]

Who ate at Red Lobster? The working and middle classes that are disappearing. The casual dining restaurants were the "nice place" to eat on payday for the middle class and the occasion place to eat for the working class, and those groups aren't eating out as much. Fast casual also has started eating into casual dining from the bottom. 5 Guys is cheaper than Red Lobster.

[@legrandfromage6450]

You hit the nail on the head. I'm sad about this, not so much because of the place itself or the food, which, (let's face it) was nothing special. Just remember family gatherings there, especially with my grandparents.

[@Milaperadotti]

It’s too expensive to eat out anymore. It’s ridiculous.

[@Fruit17-ip4vl]

You are right! 😎

[@jaredrivera2619]

Read: greedy corporate goons make terrible business decisions that kill company; affecting thousands and face no consequences.

[@boristheamerican2938]

you forgot to add then blame workers and Biden.

[@ajosephbaumhauer4071]

This is how they killed Sears. The Equity Fund got rich and everyone else lost

[@justinhensley4041]

Not even close lmao. What killed Sears is not doing anything to draw customers. If you don’t bring customers you are going to shut down. They lost to Walmart. And the online shopping market didn’t help as well. Thats why those businesses fail. Why shop at Sears, when I can go to multiple cheaper better places?

[@zombiasnow1565]

What ultimately brings down a business? GREED Go check any business story and its all the same. GREED.

[@jonathanwessner3456]

Cutting costs to make more money at the cost of being able to take care of business. Then they say "we were on slim margins! Well, you didn't have to be

[@vickycameron-x8l]

Any time anything is touched by a private equity firs(s) DIES

[@amwerner1]

Selling debt is always a red flag.

[@BookerT1]

This is the ugly side of capitalism

[@thisbushnell2012]

It's only one facet of the ugly matrix that surrounds it.

[@thomashunter5645]

Lobsters are celebrating the demise of the Red Lobster.

[@RAZR_Channel]

Ya... What about the little Red Lobster in The Little Mermaid... He was.. The Life of The Party... Under The Sea... Under The Seee...

[@gregstevens2917]

This sounds like the same shit that happened with Toys 'R Us. It's a predatory practice. It's easy to hate on RL, but the food wasn't terrible. It was just a bit antiquated. But being antiquated isn't why it's where it is now. Lots of things are antiquated that are still in business. They just haven't been cannibalized by private equity firms...

[@scotshabalam2432]

Reminds me of that part in Goodfellas where the mobsters get a restaurant, plunder it until they can't make anymore money and then burn it down for the insurance.

[@martingallegos1250]

I think it was their employees that all they want to do is ignore the customer and be on their cell phones

[@horacio-ho3bf]

Farmed Asian breaded shrimp is like eating the detris from Fat Bastard's belly folds

[@MrPrincepop]

Haven't been 'Red Lobster' for decades. Kind of fell off around the 90's for me. Besides, living near the Cheasapeake Bay we have a lot of seafood establishments that are much better due to using local sourcing. Seasonal, but worth it. We tend to stay away from the cheap, tasteless farmed raised imported seafood. It's like choosing a Popa Johns operating in NYC, why the f*ck would you eat their pizza over some of the best known mom & pop pizza in the NYC area? Private equity investment partnerships operate like the mob, they squeeze it for every penny before busting it out completely.

[@Sh1tfaceMagee-db3px]

Yup, can second this, living in the UK it is EASY to read a label to check the origin of chemical pond produced thai type farmed prawn / shrimp, ..we are a sea surrounded island with good north atlantic produce which is nigh on "doorstep" (by comparison) & tastes great, cannot understand the zombie minds that buy frozen prawns from abroad in places like our frozen food chain "iceland" & asda ( ex-walmart) for example

[@ronberman8947]

When the 3 richest families own more wealth than the bottom 50%, this is what happens. People have no disposable income to go out and eat!!

[@fdfischer]

So Private Equity strikes again?

[@Citizen_GE]

I haven't been to Dead Lobster since the late 90's because the last two times I went there I got food poisoning.

[@ramonalee1]

Prices went way up, quality went way down. I’m not surprised.

[@JolietJake2112]

The Middle/upper Middle Class doesn't exist in America anymore.. so why should their restaurants still exist??

[@auroraRealms]

Wow, so the Oligarchy just swept in and stripped the Company of all its cash assets. What could possbibly go wrong? Yep thats Bain Capital, Mit Romney, 101. I guess the US really is good at teaching companys in other countries good business practices. And this is why we can't have nice things.

[@robertwhite3992]

So bottom line corporation gouging and greed hits again.

[@cherylcalogero3330]

Anna, your makeup always looks beautiful. I especially love your eyeliner. Very pretty.

[@lynnettep2452]

every time I ate red lobster I always had stomach issues right after.

[@Chuck411]

Endless Shrimp, Reminds me of Blockbuster no late fee.

[@davecurry5604]

Private equity firm = open for 5 to 8 years then liquidated

[@Tully241]

Greed kills everything good! In this case... delicious biscuits that are no more!!!! Damn you bastards!!!!! LOL! 😝

[@CharleyHull-dn6nh]

The rising interest rate can surely control inflation, but won't prevent erosion of the eroding purchasing power of the US dollar. I have learnt my lesson this time. The banks can't be making money off my money, while inflation eats into it. I have set aside 650k to invest in the stock market now, since that keeps up with inflation, but I don't know how to get started.

[@BradPaisley56]

Investing without proper guidance can lead to mistakes and losses. I've learned this from my own experience.If you're new to investing or don't have much time, it's best to get advice from an expert.

[@fawnriverpuppyservices76]

Keeping money in the bank is like paying banks and the Govemment. Here's how it works: The bank gives out your money as loan, and charge interest obviously higher than inflation rate, and then give you, the depositor, interest lower than inflation rate. That means net loss for you. That is why I prefer to invest, and on average, my advisor makes returns that always beats inflation!

[@EstefaniaWalter66]

To be honest, I've been wary of banks for a while, but I wasn't sure how to speak with an advisor first. Please let me know who your adviser is if it's okay; I need some recommendations.?

[@fawnriverpuppyservices76]

Melissa Jean Talingdan a highly respected figure in her field. I suggest delving deeper into her credentials, as she possesses extensive experience and serves as a valuable resource for individuals seeking guidance in navigating the financial market.

[@EstefaniaWalter66]

Thank you so much for your helpful tip! I was able to verify the person and book a call session with her. She seems very proficient and I'm really grateful for your guidance

[@cvtemgrapes207]

Is anyone (other than the now-unemployed workers) going to miss The Red Lobster and it's overly breaded shrimp. The bigger problem is private equity firms that suck out all the value of companies and spit out the carcas of the business.

[@All.Natural.]

No one can afford to eat out anymore!😂

[@jasonamaral7568]

Who cares? As a New Englander I can tell you unequivocally it's trash seafood.

[@jacobzindel987]

As an Alaskan, I agree.

[@metadegen]

As is your weather lol

[@jasonamaral7568]

@@metadegen we still have real seafood, so there's that. 🤷🏻‍♂

[@allgasnobrakes919]

They food fell off just like Olive Gardens

[@RailpaxScott]

Lousy quality, high prices, miserable customer service. Red Lobster started its decline years ago.

[@gunsumwong3948]

Sound the typical American business model. Everyone is in to squeeze money out of a viable business until it is totally dead.

[@kenrobinson1412]

Just corporate greed... We want more money and more money . Like a ravenous beast until it eats itself.. Blah👎🏾

[@johnpatrick5297]

When you walk into a Red Lobster and there’s dim lighting…turn around and leave

[@montanaminck2226]

And IT ALWAYS SMELLED ,LIKE A SOUP OF GOD ONLY KNOWS, OF DISGUSTING OLD TRASH CANS

[@TheAwesomeYouTuber1]

This is what are the symptoms of profit over people here in America.

[@nedsantos1415]

Anyone else thinks that Thai company is like a vampire that sucked Red Lobster dry and dumped it?

[@MrTommy0326]

I'm going to miss Red Lobster Restaurant. The seafood was awesome.

[@patpowers9210]

We stopped going because their seafood just plain sucked. It was badly cooked and either flavorless or kinda rotten tasting. The restaurant had a run-down feel to it. That's our local Red Lobster. Not sure of others. But what happened to our Red Lobster does kinda match the enshittification you get when holding companies buy out actual companies and run things into the ground. Gonna miss those biscuits. Nothing else.

[@armaan8463]

U just described my local Red Lobster.I think poor Quality is every where with this food chain

[@seventybuick]

If you sell shrimp, unlimited shrimp and being the only supplier is a good way to sell more shrimp for the supplier, but puts the restaurant out of business.

[@PhilipDeLamarter]

Never could get past the smell. Like something else I can think of.

[@georgeglass3680]

​@@PhilipDeLamarter Free advice: Stop getting both out of the trash.

[@BalakeHart-nh4xh]

High prices, lame smaller portions, tiny shrimp, and not so good service..I can cook much better for 1/3 the price..

[@hobiwan9597]

Free market capitalism in action!

[@joemartino6976]

Billionaire Eddie Lampert did the same thing with Sears/K-Mart in their end stages of existence. He bought the chains looking at the value of the and on which the stores sat more than anything else. He had no real interest in investing in the brand's future. Vulture capitalism at its worst.

[@MrAlexanderTheG8]

Red lobster has been on the decline for years. It went from being one my favorite restaurants since I was child to a place I barely recognize. The food is very salty and leaves you feeling bloated after eating. None of the fish, shrimp or lobster seems fresh, and with our oceans being polluted, I’m sure if it was put under a microscope, none of us would eat it. I’m not surprised to see this, and olive garden, Applebee’s are probably not to far behind!!

[@emanuelmartinez7267]

Not the cheddar biscuits!!!! 🥺

[@dallwthibodaux4420]

The quality of their food is not what it once was.

[@ConsciencepartyUSA]

I just don’t understand why can’t rich ppl understand in order for them to be rich their workers have to be paid fairly as well? There’s the saying what goes around comes around for a reason right?

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Yup

[@legitdragon6202]

Capitalism has transformed from an idea of thriving off great products/service, to being about obsessively trying to bleed every last penny dry by cutting corners, predatory practices, and aggressive price gouging.

[@keithstump1712]

Thank you, greedy executives!

[@bl3343]

Wait, Red Lobster was sold for half of what Marvel sold for?! No way Red Lobster is worth that much.

[@omnigladius999]

My restaurant got shut down. I was at the Georgia Roswell location and they shut us down the day after Mother's day. no warning.

[@TomSarros-bj2mq]

Sorry their food just wasn't all that good

[@Kissfan96dr]

In the 1990s Red Lobster was my favorite restaurant. ate there probably once a month. Last visit was 2013. Super high bill (~$125 to feed 2 adults and 3 kids) plus very low quality food and smaller portions. That was it. Done.

[@gregeoryl]

They evolved into a frozen reheated TV dinner restaurant. Olive garden is frozen, also, but it works better with pasta.

[@vanessajones3508]

I know that the quality of the food there was not the same when I was there in 2022. Lobster can be cooked at home. When private equity firms get involved, the company bought is usually put out of business.

[@peryole]

EXACTLY

[@JMPulido55]

The expensive lobsters they served were so small that they looked like Crayfish.

[@stevenmoomey2115]

“A Private Equity Firm.” How many times has a company gone Bankrupt, after a Private Equity takes over.

[@georgecostanza2695]

That is terribly disappointing news, they’re one of my favourite restaurants of any kind, at any price. Speaking of which, I just had Red Lobster in Miami a couple weeks ago, and I don’t think their prices have changed for decades. Why don’t they try adjusting their prices; they could bump them 50% and it’d still be a great deal for the quality of food they serve. Regardless, I’d way rather pay a premium than never being able to have Red Lobster cheddar biscuits and shrimp linguini again.

[@MrMightyMido]

100% and I am all the way over in the ME, wonderful chain - amazing food and really good prices #SaveRedLobster

[@alwolf833]

They were to expensive ,and food wasn't very good anymore and pandemic didn't help put up prices on sea food

[@waylonbeasley1477]

The fewer chain restaurants the better.

[@richardpoirier2506]

I agree. We need more diners and privately owned restaurants. People who actually like cooking for people.

[@amanluthra2490]

Good news for the lobsters. Even they need a win once in a while.

[@stevevanscoik398]

While it's a shame what the private equity firm has done to Red Lobster it is a crime what they have done, the same thing, to nursing homes.

[@1011skarn]

Can confirm, the wealthy piece of trash at the top destroyed Sears, a once beloved American Retailer. Sears was Amazon before Amazon was Amazon. They built homes, garages, fences, all your tools, appliances, clothing...... AND THEY OWNED THEIR STORES. ZERO RENT. And yet, A LOT of rich people got richer, and when I managed there, we had more registers than cashiers. Could not possibly keep up with cleaning the store with the skeleton crew we had. That was late 2000s. I got out in 2013, and by then the Death March had begun. In the end, people who worked there for decades lost their jobs and pensions, and some hedge fund bitches walked away cleanly.

[@sneifert1968]

as soon as you said, sold to a private equity firm, that’s all I needed to hear. I knew how the story was gonna end.

[@peterpain6625]

Been there once back in the 90s as a kid and loved it. Pity they're going. May not be find dining but was good food for the money way back when :/

[@Jman926]

Red Lobster is the new Long John Silver's.

[@ryannewman4412]

Im a commerical fisherman. I tried to eat there multiple times but the food was so disgusting I couldnt even take a few bites. This is bad, gross low quality seafood

[@Brodragon2225]

why bro

[@ronnieterry4916]

The restaurant pays some of their managers too much money the restaurant has always attempted to intice customers into drinking a large amount of alcohol. Most customers have stopped over indulging in alcohol. Eating and drinking habits have changed at many of the restaurants.

[@wv1138]

They finally overfished all the biscuits in Cheddar Bay

[@ABoredTroll]

Thanks for the laugh.

[@EQOAnostalgia]

Last time i went to the local Red Lobster was my birthday around 2016... it was AWFUL. The crab was waterlogged, the "salad" they served LITERALLY was just lettuce. . . NOTHING else lol. It was a far cry from the place i remember just a few years prior. They went down hill massively in quality.

[@len452000]

Private equity firms need to be regulated. They are one of the biggest threats to America/Americans.

[@philipmclaughlin9636]

These firms have politicians in their back pockets.

[@haitianhendrix]

BRING BACK SIZZLERS!

[@rickelliott3683]

Private equity is a symptom of the neolibral system that permeates our economic environment today. I have lost count of how many major brands that have been destroyed by private equity. They don't come in to help save a brand. they come in to drain it of it's value.

[@RAZR_Channel]

Never mind that financial mumbo jumbo... This has Literally Shattered the cornerstone of America... Childhoods have been Erased... Where is your compassion...?

[@vadergrd]

so basically the company buying got the land and got rid of the restaurant and now they are done..

[@upsetuloss]

RIP Redlobster, they made alot of families come together for memorable experiences.

[@shadowjudge921]

I've only ever been there a few times, but the most memorable was for my mom's birthday back in 2014. She wanted one of the fresh Maine lobsters they keep in the tank near the entrance, but she was having trouble walking at the time so she asked me to go and pick one for her. I picked out this mammoth lobster sitting the corner of the tank. When they'd cooked it up and served it to her, I swear her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She said "I wanted a lobster, not a sea monster!" I laughed so hard, other customers thought I was having a breakdown.

[@chasingfinancialindependence]

They haven’t painted the full picture here. I worked from Red Lobster off and on for about 18 years. When I was in high school the chain was about to go bankrupt which is why it was sold in the 90s. Then there was the endless crab debacle in 2003. All of the higher ups that made that decision were fired because the company was hanging on by a string. Next up, Darden decided to get rid of the chain because it hadn’t been profitable for years and Olive Garden and other concepts were carrying the chain. The 2014 deal was terrible, but there is so much more to the story. Red Lobster appeals to Baby Boomers and low income diners. If you complain about something, you can get your entire meal for free. Fan favorites like crab Alfredo and the Ultimate Feast have been axed and replaced with cheaper, not necessarily tastier options. Tables can’t turn when people are sitting for hours eating plates of shrimp, and the cost of the Endless Shrimp is much less than the average price of an entree. Free biscuits and all of the low budget promos have done the chain in over the years. The private equity firm was the last straw, but they’ve been on this path for decades.

[@dwave81]

Over priced, mediocre seafood, terrible service.

[@armaan8463]

U forgot undercooked

[@kod5660]

Its nuts lets give myself big fat bonus then declare bankruptcy.. Its just dumb.. It should not be legal..

[@Liz-wz8dh]

Red Lobster hasn't been good in so many years. I cannot remember the last time I went in one but I remember the seafood pasta was so terrible I did not go back.

[@ksandhoff1]

YEAH I COULD NOT EAT IT, HAD TO SEND IT BACK, YU

[@maxalberts2003]

@@ksandhoff1 Me too.

[@legitdragon6202]

"I blame millennials for not wanting to go out and buy our over-priced, low quality food" - Someone out there

[@Lenin-cq9ol]

😂