Red Lobster May Close 120 Locations Including California, Idaho

Rumors have been swirling that the 56 year old restaurant chain was on the verge of bankruptcy after they abruptly closed 50 locations across America. The company’s leaders have made it official.

Red Lobster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Florida. In its release, Red Lobster explains that their restructuring process will include a reduction in the number of operating locations and sell almost all of its assets. What’s not clear from the press release is if the seafood chain plans to add more locations to the list of restaurants they’re closing.

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CNBC reports that Red Lobster closed more locations than what was listed on the TageX liquidation auction page last week before the bankruptcy filing. 50 locations in 21 states, including Idaho, California and Washington state were part of the auctions that wrapped up on Friday, May 17.

It appears that 108 of the locations listed in the bankruptcy documents have already closed, including the location in Lewiston, Idaho, Silverdale, Washington and five California locations we previously reported on. Additional California locations in Fremont, Chico and Montclair have also closed.

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The bankruptcy docket also lists 120 more leases that Red Lobster wants rejected in order to trim down their portfolio even more. Getting out of high lease payments for underperforming locations may not fix their debt problems, but it would certainly help.

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For now, neither of Idaho’s remaining locations in Boise or Coeur d’Alene are on the list. That could change as the chain goes through the Chapter 11 process. There are however, several locations in California and one in Washington State that appear on that list. These restaurants are currently open and operating as normal, but their future is murky:

4231 196th SW, Lynwood, Washington
4095 Century Boulevard, Pittsburg, California
6231 Sunrise Boulevard, Citrus Heights, California
1880 Admiral Callaghan Lane, Vallejo, California
195 E Hospitality Lane, San Bernardino, California
503 E Calaveras Blvd, Milpitas, California
2283 W March Lane, Stockton, California
1720 N Main Street, Salinas, California
2040 Aborn Road, San Jose, California

Was Endless Shrimp to Blame?

In order to reduce their debt, Red Lobster had what seemed like a solid idea to get more foot traffic into their restaurants. Rather than offer “Endless Shrimp” for a limited time, the deal was added to the regular menu during early Summer 2023.

The offer did increase the number of people visiting the casual seafood chain, but they weren’t ordering more items like apps, drinks and desserts. At $20 a plate, the restaurant wasn’t making money. It was losing money. A lot of money. Food & Wine reports that they lost more than $11 million in Q3 2023.