this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2024
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"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."

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[–] [email protected] 143 points 7 months ago (3 children)
[–] OldManBOMBIN 55 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Walks in, limits your shrimp, refuses not to elaborate, leaves the entire world.

[–] moriquende 15 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Me: please do not elaborate

Red Lobster: elaborates

[–] [email protected] 28 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Never ending story...

Ended.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Did it or did the kid reading it just stop reading? 🤔

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago
[–] wreckedcarzz 8 points 7 months ago

Sounds like an open-shut case. Who's with me? I want a $9 check in 7 months.

[–] [email protected] 87 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Filing bankruptcy over 11 million? Really? Doesn't seem like a lot for a big restaurant chain.

[–] wreckedcarzz 88 points 7 months ago (18 children)

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+...

[–] [email protected] 55 points 7 months ago

The "endless shrimp" excuse seems like a marketing ploy. Doesn't hit as hard as "no one's coming to our restaurants to eat our shitty food."

[–] turmacar 26 points 7 months ago (2 children)

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.

[–] skygirl 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago

God yes. When i die, take my ashes to cheddar bay

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago (2 children)

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! 🐾 )

[–] Wrench 19 points 7 months ago (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I've had high end raw fish in Las Vegas, a literal dessert.

Fish as a dessert??

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago

Desert. The fish was a desert. It's Las Vegas that's in a dessert, obviously.

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[–] FlashMobOfOne 8 points 7 months ago

Once their cheddar biscuits became purchasable on a store shelf, I imagine that decreased the impetus to visit the actual restaurant.

Their biscuits are the best part.

[–] stoly 7 points 7 months ago

In the late 90s I mentioned never having tried lobster. This resulted in a dangerous u-turn and a drive to the closest red lobster. Only time I went and I forgot until your comment.

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[–] The_v 30 points 7 months ago

The previous owners purchased the company via a leveraged buyout. It's not one quarters losses, it's the massive long-term debt on it's books.

This is a handy excuse to fuck over employees and suppliers.

[–] OldManBOMBIN 9 points 7 months ago

It's also really expensive importing biscuits from Cheddar Bay

[–] RagingRobot 67 points 7 months ago (2 children)

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.

[–] Badeendje 38 points 7 months ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] Stupidmanager 20 points 7 months ago (2 children)

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.

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[–] Dagnet 38 points 7 months ago (17 children)

First time I heard of this, feels like I missed a huge opportunity

[–] weariedfae 16 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Same. I love me unlimited shrampies. I had no idea it was permanent on the menu.

[–] wreckedcarzz 9 points 7 months ago

permanent

Well, not anymore...

[–] OldManBOMBIN 9 points 7 months ago

Same here. It was always overshadowed by unlimited soup salad and bread sticks I guess.

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[–] Ultragigagigantic 32 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 7 months ago

The Applebees of the sea.

[–] MashedTech 23 points 7 months ago (1 children)

If that much loss is going to bring down a corporation? Maybe the corpo wasn't being taken care of good enough

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I bet this is just the setup for when they try to weasel their way out of California's minimum wage and then when they win, they'll use the same playbook to try to get around minimum wage in other states. This could cause a snowball effect where a nonzero number of employers get a free pass on select labor laws.

Hopefully they just lose and go out of business.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 7 months ago (1 children)
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[–] MisterNeon 21 points 7 months ago (1 children)

What does 11 million dollars in shrimp look like? Let alone 11 million in losses, how much god damn shrimp is that? Was cocktail sauce calculated into this?

[–] OldManBOMBIN 21 points 7 months ago (4 children)

The cost here for shitty frozen shrimp is about $13 for 2lbs of "31-40" (31-40 shrimp per lb); at that cost, averaging 35 shrimp per pound, you could buy approximately 29,615,385 shrimp, which would weigh around 400 tons. I think I did that math right. It's late.

[–] SpaceNoodle 16 points 7 months ago (1 children)

And you know they ain't buying it at the Piggly Wiggly, but at a deep discount they negotiated ages ago with their distributor(s).

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[–] MisterNeon 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Appreciate you. You're causing me and my friends to consider indoor shrimp farming for profit.

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[–] hark 18 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I've only gone to red lobster for the endless shrimp (though there are much better all-you-can-eat options out there). They should try making their regular offerings better. It also doesn't help that private equity is in the middle of raiding the company and that's probably the main reason they're currently eyeing bankruptcy.

[–] Jimmycakes 8 points 7 months ago

Same with olive garden they want the decades old prime real estate. They could give a fuck about the restaurant

[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I'm not surprised. Every endless seafood deal Red Lobster did lost money.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Red Lobster: “Endless Shrimp”

Ocean: “Dude… no.”

[–] SlopppyEngineer 14 points 7 months ago

Some people can't help themselves at the seafood buffet

[–] boatsnhos931 11 points 7 months ago

I do it all for the skrimpz

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)
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