On May 19, beloved restaurant Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy, shutting down multiple locations in the process. Rap icon, Flavor Flav, decided he wasn’t going to stand for that. Less than a month later, he ordered the chain’s entire menu in one sitting.
He revealed the news on both Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). The picture, seen below, is exactly what you would expect — the man of the hour himself stands, hands outstretched, signature clock chain around his neck, the savior of dying businesses everywhere.
The Shutdown
When this decision by the restaurant was announced back in May, Flav promised on X that he wants to use the platform he’s built to “save one of America’s greatest dining dynasties.” While he told Red Lobster to call him in the tweet — and they did reach out — this decision seems to be purely unsponsored. His family joined him for the meal, his daughter Dazyna chiming into the conversation on Instagram.
While the company probably appreciated the gesture, they seemingly have no plans to truly shut its doors. It is instead focusing on restructuring and improving the customer service experience.
But why did Flavor Flav do this?
This move isn’t out of character for Flavor Flav. Not only does he consistently support fellow musical artists facing backlash, he has provided financial support to those in need before. Maggie Steffens, a member of the U.S. women’s water polo team, posted about her team’s own financial struggles in May on Instagram. Flav remains the top comment, promising that “imma personally sponsor you my girl,,, whatever you need. And imma sponsor the whole team.”
The artist isn’t new to the restaurant industry, either. From 2011 to 2013, he opened up a series of fried chicken-themed restaurants, all of which ended up shutting down in quick succession. Maybe Flav knows what it feels like to be at the helm of a sinking ship in such a risky business and wanted to offer the support he could for fellow restaurateurs.
Or maybe it was simply to save the cheesy goodness of cheddar bay biscuits. The world may never know, but the true reason is unimportant in the face of such a heroic decision. Hopefully none of us will have to say a final goodbye to Red Lobster anytime soon!