As the home to world-famous cheddar biscuits and seafood focused dining, Red Lobster’s downfall is reported to have contributed to the many deals the restaurant chain offered over the years. From ‘Endless Shrimp’ for $20 to $10 Fish Frys, the promotions ran into trouble with keeping customers interested and, in the end, losing revenue. Following its Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in May 2024, which gives businesses the time to regroup and pay off their debts over time while continuing operation, Red Lobster has been a ghost town.
Barely three months after filing for bankruptcy, Illinoisian and former P.F. Chang’s CEO Damola Adamolekun took the reins as the new CEO of Red Lobster. As a Brown and Harvard Business School alum, Adamolekun stands as the youngest who has ever held the position at 35 years old and has experience in operational and financial restructuring. After seeing his success with P.F. Chang’s, where he increased the franchise’s profitability by almost 32% during the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the world was confident in his ability to bring Red Lobster back to its former glory.
Damola believes that Red Lobster is one of the most important companies to ever exist in America, and he might be a little biased because he loved the restaurant as a kid, but who can say ‘no’ to those biscuits? As part of his first initiative as the new boss with a $60 million budget, Adamolekun promised a makeover to his favorite restaurant that includes elevating the customer dining experience with lighting, music, reinstating hushpuppies on the menu, and debating with fans on the resurrection of the infamous ‘Endless Shrimp’ promo.
Speaking of the menu, Damola has introduced 10 new items such as Crabbed Topped Potato, seafood pastas, and Passion Star Spritz which features passion fruit, vodka, sparkling wine, and a gold-dusted star fruit garnish to top the drink off. However, the menu item that has had customers running to their nearest Red Lobsters to try is the seafood boils. The revamped item has garnered mixed reviews, and some fear this might be a setback for Damola.
What does the internet think about Red Lobster’s seafood boils?
The comparison to Aldi and TikTok Shop seafood boils began immediately when TikTok users saw some videos of people’s reactions circulate the internet. Talks of the seafood boil lacking creole seasoning and looking oily spread quickly, and Keith Lee’s wife, Ronni, was among the customers to test out the item for herself since Lee could not due to his shellfish allergy. According to Ronni, the shrimp tasted like shrimp, and the potato tasted like…well, potato.
To Ronni’s luck, and possibly other customers who were initially excited about the seafood boil, Red Lobster dove into the comment section to offer some reassurance. “We hear you on the spices, Ronni! Don’t worry, CEO Damola is already cooking something up,” Red Lobster said.
Apparently, they weren’t trolling and he has new plans for their seafood boils.
What is going to happen to the Red Lobster seafood boils?
Red Lobster posted Damola’s response video yesterday to their TikTok and Instagram pages with the caption, “We’ve seen your comments. Spice it your way. Boils just got personal!” He says the restaurant is turning up the heat and offering three new levels for the seafood boils: original, spicy, and extra spicy. Additionally, there will be a new Old Bay & Parmesan flavor which customers have the option of adding sausage to.
If you were intrigued by Red Lobster’s seafood boil the first time, these new flavors might peak your interest again. Hopefully this time around it’s exactly what Damola envisioned when he set out to show the world how he saw Red Lobster in his mind.