Seafood-restaurant chain Red Lobster is looking to make a comeback from bankruptcy with a new menu, a new 35-year-old CEO, and a new way forward.
Damola Adamolekun, the new chief executive of Red Lobster, is taking over a chain in turmoil. And he’s only 35.
“There’s a hole to climb out of, for sure, and that will be the hardest part,” Adamolekun told CNN last Friday in his first on-camera interview as CEO.
The new Red Lobster menu includes nine new items:
- Lobster Pappardelle
- Pasta Bacon Wrapped Sea Scallops
- Lobster Bisque
- Lemon Basil Mahi
- Simply Prepared Mahi
- Parmesan-Crusted Chicken
- Roasted Asparagus
Red Lobster’s new Lobster Pappardelle
Red Lobster’s revamped menu will be 20% smaller and won’t include the popular $19.99 all-you-can-eat Ultimate Endless Shrimp.
Also returning to the menu one of their more popular items hush puppies. “There was a social media riot over us taking off the hush puppies a few years ago,” CEO Damola Adamolekun told NBC News. “I expect a stampede into our restaurants because we’re bringing back the hush puppies,” he jokingly added.
hush puppies
New to the lunch menu- an endless soup, salad & cheddar bay biscuits combo for $9.99. Choose from clam chowder or lobster bisque and a house salad, caesar salad or coleslaw.
The new menu comes as the chain’s CEO Damola Adamolekun is rolling out a comeback plan that also includes a revamped look and an advertising campaign aimed at bringing in younger customers.
“We want to make the restaurants more fun,” Adamolekun shared. Diners will soon notice new lighting at the restaurants and new music as part of Adamolekun’s efforts to attract younger customers who might have grown up going to the chain but haven’t been back for some time.
Red Lobster recently emerged from bankruptcy with a $60 million restructuring deal backed by Fortress Investment Group, which involved closing about 100 of its 640 restaurants, leaving 544 Red Lobsters remaining in the U.S. and Canada.
It’s been a tough year for fast-casual and family-style chains. Red Lobster, whose visits decreased nearly 45% year-over-year, joins a growing list of chains that have filed for bankruptcy as a result of weakening sales due to higher prices, inflation, high-interest rates, and the need for strategic realignment to meet shifting consumer habits.
However, there is good news for disappointed shrimp lovers. The new CEO did hear customers complaining about the tartar sauce recipe and promised a new, “better” one is coming soon.
