More than 80 Red Lobster locations in the United States, including two in Illinois, were listed as “temporarily closed,” weeks when it was reported that the struggling chain was considering filing for bankruptcy.
The Bloomingdale and Danville restaurants were among several establishments listed as “temporarily closed” on the chain’s website Monday afternoon. Illinois has 25 Red Lobster restaurants, including 16 in the Chicago area.
In mid-April, a report from Bloomberg claimed that the seafood chain was considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it sought to restructure its debts. The chain reported a loss of approximately $11 million in the third quarter of 2023 due to more customers than expected taking advantage of its “Ultimate Endless Shrimp Deal,” according to a previous CNN report.
“We knew the price was cheap. But the idea was to attract more traffic to the restaurants,” Ludovic Garnier, chief financial officer of Thai Union, the chain’s parent company, said in a conference call in November of that year.
Red Lobster also tried to increase sales with another unique ad campaign, in which it pledged to give 150 winners a free meal of “endless lobster for one day and one day only,” according to its site Internet.
A listing from an NBC affiliate in Maine showed the channel had listed more than 80 locations as “temporarily closed” on its website. The majority of closures were recorded in Florida.
Here is the full list, Tuesday morning:
Alabama
Arizona
California
Colorado
Florida
- Hialeah, Florida
- Tampa, Florida
- Tampa, Florida
- Largo, Florida
- Kissimmee, Florida
- Leesburg, Florida
- Orlando, Florida
- Orlando, Florida
- Orlando, Florida (Golden Sky Lane)
- Altamonte Springs, Florida
- Gainesville, Florida
- Jacksonville, Florida (Commerce Center Drive)
- Jacksonville, Florida (Baymeadows Road)
- Jacksonville, Florida (City Station Drive)
- Sanford, Florida
- Daytona Beach Shores, Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
Maryland
Mississippi
Missouri
New Jersey
new York
- Lakewood, New York
- Buffalo, New York
- Amherst, New York
- Williamsville, New York
- Rochester, New York
- Poughkeepsie, New York
- Stony Brook, New York
- Kingston, New York
- Scarsdale, New York
- Nanuet, New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Caroline from the south
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
NBC Chicago
