Red Lobster files for bankruptcy amid closures
Red Lobster has filed for bankruptcy, a week after 50 locations throughout the country closed. At least eight of those were in Texas.
The seafood restaurant chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Florida, the company said in a statement Sunday night.
According to the company, it intends to use the proceedings to “drive operational improvements, simplify the business through a reduction in locations, and pursue a sale of substantially all of its assets.”
TAGeX Brands, a company that helps firms with closures and liquidations, auctioned off equipment from 48 Red Lobster locations. The auctions ended periodically Thursday. Each winner was set to receive the “entire contents of the Red Lobster location they bid on,” the website said.
Red Lobster started in Lakeland, Fla., in the late 1960s. In an April 2024 Bloomberg report citing sources familiar with the discussions, the seafood chain was considering a bankruptcy filing to renegotiate burdensome leases and address other long-term contracts, as well as rising labor costs.
According to Bloomberg, Red Lobster has been finding it difficult to make money with its current leases and labor costs. CNN also reported that the company suffered a $12.5 million operating loss in the fourth quarter of 2023, despite its “Ultimate Endless Shrimp” promotion.
As of Monday, at least eight Red Lobster locations in Texas were listed as temporarily closed:
College Station: 1200 E. University Drive
Dallas: 9069 Vantage Point Drive Dallas: 10290 E. Technology Blvd. Houston: 302 W. FM 1960, Cypress Pointe
Lake Jackson: 104 Texas 332, Brazos Mall
Longview: 3515 McCann Road Lufkin: 1919 S. First St., Lufkin Mall Pasadena: 4002 Spencer Highway