Goodbye, cheddar biscuits and endless shrimp. Dozens of Red Lobster restaurants have shut down throughout the country.
The shell-shocking news comes after Neal Sherman, the CEO of TageX Brands announced that his company will be auctioning off furniture from select Red Lobster restaurants.
TageX Brands, a company that liquidates restaurant equipment, also announced on its website that the closures span at least 20 states, including New York and New Jersey. The auctions are scheduled to end Thursday, May 16.
None of the Red Lobsters in NYC are on the chopping block. At press time, the city’s Red Lobster locations at 5 Times Square, Manhattan, 455 Gateway Drive, Brooklyn, and 2090 Bartow Ave., Bronx, remain open. New York state Red Lobsters that are now closed are located in Kingston, Amherst and Rochester.
amNew York reached out to Red Lobster for comment but did not hear back. As of Wednesday afternoon, the websites for each location list the restaurants as “temporarily” closed. The phone did not ring or no one answered at each location when a reporter called.
Why are Red Lobsters closing?
Last month, Bloomberg reported the restaurant chain was considering filing for bankruptcy. Also, Thai Union, which owns Red Lobster and first invested in it in 2016, announced in January its “intention to pursue an exit of its minority investment” in the chain.
“The combination of Covid-19 pandemic, sustained industry headwinds, higher interest rates and rising material and labor costs have impacted Red Lobster, resulting in prolonged negative financial contributions to Thai Union and its shareholders,” Thiraphong Chansiri, Thai Union Group’s CEO, said. “After detailed analysis, we have determined that Red Lobster’s ongoing financial requirements no longer align with our capital allocation priorities and therefore are pursuing an exit of our minority investment.”
Red Lobster first opened in Lakeland, Fla., a family-owned restaurant in 1968. It now boasts 700 locations worldwide, according to its website.
Chain stores, which once thrived long before the COVID-19 pandemic, have been suffering. Most recently, Sam Ash announced it would close down all of its music stores after 100 years of business, citing competition from online shopping.
Rite Aid also began closing stores in New York City recently after it declared bankruptcy last year. And party supply giant Party City closed several stores in New York City last year, including two in Manhattan and one in the Bronx.
