Red Lobster to shut no less than 48 eating places after ‘endless shrimp’ debacle | EUROtoday

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The troubled Red Lobster restaurant chain is closing down no less than 48 of its roughly 650 branches throughout the US, in response to a restaurant liquidation firm.

Neal Sherman, the chief government of TAGeX Brands, mentioned on LinkedIn on Monday that it was helping with the fast closure of Red Lobsters in 21 US states, beginning at this time.

All of the gear from the eating places is now being offered off.

“TAGeX Brands is proud to launch the largest restaurant liquidation EVER through its online auction marketplace,” mentioned Mr Sherman. “The furniture, fixtures, and equipment from select Red Lobster locations MUST GO ASAP!”

The closures included 5 branches in California and Florida, 4 in Colorado and Maryland, three in Georgia, New York, Texas, and Virginia, and lots of others throughout the nation.

It comes after reviews that the Florida-based seafood chain is contemplating submitting for chapter after years of cost-cutting by its guardian firm.

In 2023, the struggling firm was additional knocked off steadiness by a $20 countless shrimp provide that proved unexpectedly well-liked with prospects, reportedly costing it thousands and thousands of {dollars}.

The all-you-can-eat menu choice was beforehand a time-limited promotional provide. But when Red Lobster made it everlasting, patrons ended up consuming much more shrimp than the restaurant might afford, whereas taking over tables and lengthening wait occasions for brand spanking new arrivals.

“We were expecting an increase of 20 per cent in customer traffic, but the actual number was up to 40 per cent,” mentioned Thiraphong Chansiri, the chief government of Red Lobster’s guardian firm Thai Union, final November.

In January, Thai Union introduced it will finish its involvement with Red Lobster after consuming a $530m loss on its preliminary funding, which it blamed on the Covid-19 pandemic and the rise of rates of interest all over the world.

Red Lobster didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.