Anyone ever actually eaten at a Red Lobster?
Anyone ever actually eaten at a Red Lobster?
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Post #31 - May 15th, 2024, 9:58 pmDidn't they have all you can eat lobster too? I used to like Red Lobster, but it has been years since I have eaten at one.
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Post #32 - May 16th, 2024, 6:38 pm
I've only been to Red Lobster once, 30 years ago. But I think you're conflating two of their promotions. There's Lobsterfest, then endless shrimp is another (maybe part of Lobsterfest). Based on a press release earlier this year, they were doing a drawing for 150 national winners to get two hours of all you can eat lobster, and even that seems like it has some limits.NFriday wrote:Didn't they have all you can eat lobster too? I used to like Red Lobster, but it has been years since I have eaten at one.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2024/02/19/red-lobster-endless-lobster-deal/72657648007/
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Post #33 - May 17th, 2024, 8:35 amNFriday wrote:Didn't they have all you can eat lobster too? I used to like Red Lobster, but it has been years since I have eaten at one.
They did do Endless Snow Crab one year, the amount of crab they were buying caused the wholesale price to spike and they ended up losing millions. Last time I went to a Red Lobster was probably in the 1980's, can't remember being overly impressed but then most of the seafood availalbe in Kentucky at the time was of the battered/breaded and fried variety.Cookingblahg.blogspot.com
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Post #34 - May 17th, 2024, 8:00 pm
I remember that. Rather surprisingly, the crab wasn't all that good - perhaps Red Lobster had to lower its quality standards in order to obtain enough crab. I've encountered the same thing at Chinese buffets with snow crab legs - being choosy at the grocery store yields better crab than that.Coogles wrote:They did do Endless Snow Crab one year...
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Post #35 - May 20th, 2024, 10:15 amRed Lobster files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/20/red-lob ... uptcy.htmlNever order barbecue in a place that also serves quiche - Lewis Grizzard
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Post #36 - May 29th, 2024, 3:27 pmIn a soccer folder here at the abode; there was a note of the Chicago Soccer Fanaddicts [R.I.P.] having a board meeting at the Red Lobster @ Cumberland & Montrose in April 1999.Valuable links for survival, without the monetization attempt: https://pqrs-ltd.xyz/bookmark4.html
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Post #37 - September 10th, 2024, 9:58 amI've gifted this fascinating, detailed and not-too-surprising* account of Red Lobster's demise in the NY Times . . .
Greed, Gluttony and the Crackup of Red Lobsterat nytimes.com, David Segal wrote:In June of last year, Red Lobster announced that Ultimate Endless Shrimp — as much as you can scarf down for just $20 — would become an “all day, every day” fixture of the menu.
Game on, said America.
Diners swarmed the chain’s nearly 700 restaurants, ordering round after round of Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp (breaded, sweet and fried), Walt’s Favorite (breaded and fried), Garlic Shrimp Scampi (shrimp in a pool of butter and garlic sauce), Shrimp Linguini Alfredo (shrimp on a pile of pasta with garlic sauce) and Grilled Shrimp Skewers (self-explanatory). The first round came with two sides: coleslaw, French fries, mashed potatoes, baked potato or rice.
It was a giddy, raucous display of gluttony. TikTokers sank into upholstered booths and declared their goals — “Hi, my name is Onalee and I’m going to eat 65 shrimp tonight” — or posted videos of shrimp-gobbling marathons. “Only eat at Red Lobster for an entire day?” said a grinning mattpeterson__fan-764. “Challenge accepted!”
Among employees, news that Endless Shrimp would, in fact, never end was greeted with dread. As an occasional special over the years, it was always a frantic ordeal. Cooks and servers could barely keep up. Bargain hunters griped about the pace of refills. Cops were summoned to handle diners enraged that they couldn’t get takeaway bags.
*not-too-surprising because, of course, private equity was involved.
=R=Same planet, different world
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Post #38 - September 10th, 2024, 10:42 amHaven't been to a Red Lobster since my mom died (it was one of her favorites), but I'm still sorry to see the demise of any place that was once so popular.
Do wonder about the wisdom of that "all you can eat" offer--maybe just one free refill--especially in the day of TikTok challenges.
Wonder if the pallets of Red Lobster biscuit mix will still show up at the warehouse clubs."All great change in America begins at the dinner table." Ronald Reagan
http://midwestmaize.wordpress.com
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Post #39 - September 10th, 2024, 7:56 pmOne of the explanations for all you can eat shrimp is that one of the major private equity partners was a seafood supplier, enforcing Red lobster to buy more seafood at least gave them some return on their investment.What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
-- Lin Yutang
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Post #40 - September 10th, 2024, 9:26 pmJoelF wrote:One of the explanations for all you can eat shrimp is that one of the major private equity partners was a seafood supplier, enforcing Red lobster to buy more seafood at least gave them some return on their investment.
The bigger sin was becoming McDonald's in reverse. The private equity firm that bought them years ago sold off the real estate and the stores were forced into leases at above-market rates. That was the beginning of the end.
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Post #41 - September 11th, 2024, 1:52 amDo you know who bought the real estate? Was it an entity related to the private equity firm making it a slow motion bustout?
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Post #42 - September 11th, 2024, 7:20 amtjr wrote:Do you know who bought the real estate? Was it an entity related to the private equity firm making it a slow motion bustout?
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-realty-capital-properties-closes-15-billion-red-lobster-sale-leaseback-transaction-268936111.html
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Post #43 - September 11th, 2024, 3:24 pmAnyone familiar with fresh seafood knows there is no compromise with quality and price.
I get my seafood from Fresh Farms, Touhy, H-Mart, Mitsuwa and from a small number of trusted Internet/Wholesale venders devoted to quality.
As to Red Lobster, we went once when they first opened. Asked for oysters on the half shell at the bar, “Must be served at the table!” We went to Bob Chinn’s at that time for the
Clam bar before 5pm.
-Richard
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Post #44 - September 12th, 2024, 12:11 pmFocusing on the perceived quality (or lack thereof) at Red Lobster really misses the entire point of what happened here, and the significance of the story.
=R=Same planet, different world
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Post #45 - September 12th, 2024, 12:48 pmronnie_suburban wrote:Focusing on the perceived quality (or lack thereof) at Red Lobster really misses the entire point of what happened here, and the significance of the story.
=R=
True dat. Bob Chinn's was never a competitor.
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Post #46 - September 30th, 2024, 1:57 amI've been seeing an ad for Red Lobster concerning their Cheddar Bay Biscuits and a contest they are having, where 150 people can win free Red Lobster for four years. Has anybody else seen this ad? I would be surprised that they are going to be around for four years.
