More Red Lobster closures are on the horizon for the struggling seafood restaurant. Red Lobster, which had announced it was restructuring after declaring bankruptcy earlier this year , will close 23 stores according to a recent court filing. This is in addition to more than 100 Red Lobsters that have already closed this year.
Once the closure is finished, Red Lobster will operate approximately 500 stores, down from the 650 it operated at this time last year, CNN reports. Red Lobster is looking for a buyer for the restaurant chain as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. Fortress Credit Corp, a lender that owns Logan's Roadhouse, J Alexander's and specializes in restaurant management, is expected to buy the chain.
The lender announced on Monday that it was planning to put former PF Chang's CEO Damola Adamolekun in place as Red Lobster's CEO once the bankruptcy proceedings conclude. Adamolekun helmed the Chinese-food chain for four years before leaving in August 2023. Last fall, Red Lobster lost $11 million on its Ultimate Endless Shrimp promotion , which charged $20 for all-you-can-eat shrimp deal.
“We knew the price was cheap, but the idea was to bring more traffic in the restaurants,” Ludovic Garnier, the chief financial officer of Thai Union Group, Red Lobster's former co-owner, said in an earnings call with investors. Garnier said the deal worked, and that restaurant traffic increased. But guests chose the $20 deal at a higher rate than expected, according to Garnier.
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