Red Lobster Wants a Black Comeback but Some Folks Aren’t Biting

By Angela Wilson| Black families across the nation have at least once, or twice, visited Red Lobster for holidays or to gather after Sunday church service. But after Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in 2024, a new CEO (who is Nigerian American, by the way) took over. And now the seafood restaurant is seemingly on the up and up with Black diners, but some Black consumers say, “Unh, unh, not so fast!”

Since 2019, Red Lobster struggled with a decline in customers and mounting losses. Their beloved “Endless Shrimp” deal (a low-cost deal that offered diners all-you-can eat shrimp dishes) went from being an occasional promotion to a permanent one, and it was costly to say the least. They took on a whopping $11 million in financial losses, amid rising labor costs and the brand being sold to a private equity firm in 2014.

Over 100 Red Lobsters, which was founded in 1968 by Bill Darden, who opposed Jim Crow laws and encouraged Black and white diners to eat together in an inclusive space, closed their doors for good last June. And the downward spiral of Red Lobster begun. That is until Damola Adamolekun, the company’s new Black CEO, took over the job in September. And now Red Lobster has become viral, mostly in part to its updated restaurant decor and new menu items, including seafood boils.

The 36-year-old CEO announced the restaurant’s new selections, including Lobster Pappardelle Pasta, Bacon-Wrapped Sea Scallops, and the return of Popcorn Shrimp and Hush Puppies for nostalgia’s sake. And boy did their new menu items take off, most notably their seafood bags.

While some devoured theirs, taking to social media to praise the new item, others compared it to other seafood boil franchises, saying there’s just no comparison.

Ronni Lee, the wife of Keith Lee, a social media food critic who rose to fame conducting reviews from his car, called her seafood boil “fresh” that was “cooked really well,” and “flavorful and juicy” on TikTok. But others slammed the seafood bags. One TikTok user called her seafood boil “nasty,” “dry” with “no flavor” and said she’d only return to the establishment just for the $5 margaritas. After some online backlash, Red Lobster went back to the drawing board and revamped the meal, and a lot of Black folks gave them another chance and were pleased.

Source:

https://www.theroot.com/red-lobster-wants-a-black-comeback-but-some-folks-arent-2000058256