Overview
- CEO Damola Adamolekun told the Wall Street Journal the chain is evaluating leases and could shutter additional locations in 2026, without specifying a number.
- About 129–130 restaurants were closed during the May 2024 Chapter 11 process, and the company exited bankruptcy in September 2024 under RL Investor Holdings led by Fortress.
- Sales are up roughly 10% year over year since the turnaround began, though many restaurants still need renovations and the brand rebuild continues.
- A 2014 sale‑leaseback left Red Lobster with heavy rent obligations—about $190.5 million in 2023—and some leases bundle weaker stores with stronger ones, complicating selective closures.
- Management has cut costs by ending the loss‑making endless shrimp offer, laying off roughly 200 restaurant employees and about 10% of corporate staff, and renegotiating vendor contracts as tariffs raise seafood prices.