Red Lobster to close more struggling restaurants this week

Red Lobster’s unit count has shrunk by more than 20% this year. | Photo: Shutterstock

Red Lobster is closing more restaurants across the country amid its ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.

In a bankruptcy filing Thursday, the company said it was rejecting the leases of 23 struggling locations that it had deemed to be a drain on its finances. It plans to vacate the restaurants by Aug. 31. 

The closures follow the shutdown of 93 Red Lobster locations on a single day in May. They will bring Red Lobster’s total footprint to just over 500 outlets, a more than 20% decline from the nearly 650 locations the chain had at the end of 2023.

The Orlando-based, casual-dining seafood chain filed for bankruptcy protection on May 19, citing inflation, burdensome leases and mismanagement for its financial problems. Shortly after, it disclosed that more than 120 locations were in danger of closing if it was unable to renegotiate leases with landlords.

Red Lobster is on track to be acquired out of bankruptcy by Fortress Investment Group, which owns Krystal, Logan’s Roadhouse and other restaurant chains through subsidiary SPB Hospitality. A hearing on the sale is scheduled for Sept. 5.

In the Thursday filing, the company noted that the 23 closed restaurants weren’t necessary for a sale or reorganization. 

The Red Lobsters slated for closure this week are located in: 

Pensacola, Port Richey and Fort Walton Beach, Florida; Alexandria, Richmond and Virginia Beach, Virginia; Bourbonnais, Geneva and Peoria, Illinois; Bronx and Queensbury, New York; Michigan City, Indiana; Yuma, Arizona; Cayce, South Carolina; Jonesboro, Georgia; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Jacksonville, North Carolina; La Mesa, California; Little Rock, Arkansas; Strongsville, Ohio; and Maplewood, Missouri. 

Red Lobster is the largest seafood chain in the U.S., with total sales of more than $2.1 billion in 2023. But sales fell 8% last year amid closures and waning demand from consumers.

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