Seafood restaurant chain Red Lobster is looking to make a comeback from bankruptcy with a new menu, a new 35-year-old CEO, and a new way forward.
The new Red Lobster menu includes nine new items, including lobster bisque, bacon-wrapped sea scallops, lobster pappardelle pasta, grilled mahi, Parmesan-crusted chicken, some new pasta dishes, and a return of everyone’s favorite item: hush puppies.
The new menu comes as the chain’s CEO Damola Adamolekun is rolling out a comeback plan that also includes a revamped look and advertising campaign aimed at bringing in younger customers.
“We want to make the restaurants more fun,” Adamolekun told NBC News. “We want to make this more energetic.”
Red Lobster recently emerged from bankruptcy with a $60 million restructuring deal backed by Fortress Investment Group, which involved closing about 100 of its 640 restaurants, leaving 544 Red Lobsters remaining in the U.S. and Canada.
It’s been a tough year for fast-casual and family-style chains. Red Lobster joins a growing list of chains that have filed for bankruptcy as a result of weakening sales (visits to Red Lobster decreased over 44% year-over-year) due to higher prices, inflation, high interest rates, and the need for strategic realignment to meet shifting consumer habits. That list also includes TGI Fridays, Tijuana Flats, Buca di Beppo, and BurgerFi.
Red Lobster’s revamped menu will be 20% smaller and won’t include the popular $19.99 all-you-can-eat Ultimate Endless Shrimp promotion, because as Adamolekun put it, “I know how to do math” (implying the promotion was costly and didn’t add to the company’s bottom line).
However, there is some good news for disappointed shrimp lovers everywhere. The new CEO did hear customers complaining about the tartar sauce recipe, and promised a new, “better” one is coming soon.
Also, one thing that won’t be changing is the annual Lobsterfest, which features lobster dishes not available year-round. The company says the event will be even bigger this year, making it the GOAT, or “GLOAT: greatest lobster fest of all time.”
On Monday, the chain is also offering veterans, active-duty military, and reservists a free shrimp meal for Veterans Day.
