https://jacobin.com/2024/05/red-lobster-bankruptcy-private-equity
Red Lobster’s bankruptcy isn’t a story about the recklessness of having endless shrimp on offer — it’s a story of how private equity firms bled a restaurant chain dry, leaving workers and diners adrift.
I have never thought of Red Lobster as particularly 'affordable', nor 'beloved' as the article repeatedly insists.
I'm not taking sides at all, I'm sure the facts behind the article stand for themselves, but it feels like an attempt to be a sob story when a beleaguered and overpriced restaurant chain goes under - even if it was drowned.
It's peak "middle class fancy" to me. It's not cheap, has not been for a while. But it's the kind of place you could bring three kids and feel fancy, yet not totally blow the budget. It's not "fine dining" but it's a cosplay for a large demographic
I think it had more of an image of affordable classiness in the early 90's. My family couldn't really afford to eat out much back then, but I feel like eating at chain food places that had waiters was more of a rarity.
Hell, back then wendys and pizza hut were considered a sit down restaurant for the family.
I've never been and I've lived in the Midwest for most of my life. The few times I've loved seafood was when it was fresh.
When I was poor, I thought it was fancy, when I was well off I tried it a few times. Now I know it's the Applebee's of sea food.
I've eaten at red lobster maybe once? But I'm from Seattle so if I want good seafood I'd just got to any dozen of the local redturants that buy local.
The problem where I live is that there aren’t any other options for seafood-focused restaurants, and the fanciest of local regular restaurants are similarly priced ($100-150 for two) or cheaper while also serving much better food. The few places that are “higher tier” than that are weird old people bars that have giant spread-eagle nude paintings on the walls and their food is always disappointing.
There’s nothing wrong with properly frozen seafood, so at the rate we went to Red Lobster, maybe twice per year, we’re better off satisfying our seafood cravings by buying at the store and preparing it at home. It will taste better at about 1/3 the price. We can spend our “fancy date” money at a local restaurant and have consistently better experiences all around.
TBH I’m looking forward to Red Lobster not being an option anymore. Support your local restaurants.
Red Lobster is to seafood what Olive Garden is to Italian cuisine. It's a sanitized American friendly chain that's always prioritized appeal and convenience over everything else. It's the place you go when you have a vague feeling you'd like something similar to sea food but don't really want to think very much. And it's just bankruptcy. They're not actually going out of business. My local place isn't even closing.
I don't even eat at Red Lobster. It just annoys me that, every day, I am reminded that business success no longer requires actually providing goods or services.
Problem is the company is got lease payments forever due to selling all their property and leasing it back, netting 1.5 million...
Get some Bisquick Pancake mix, get some shredded cheddar cheese.
That's it my friend, you've created cheddar bay biscuit mix. I personally think it's better.
I was a contributor to the fall of the original "all you can eat crab legs"
I might have been a tiny girl at the time, but I packed them away, much to my mother's horror and my father's delight
Fucking hate private equity. Come at me, Blackrock. I got enough firepower to take you on!
I debated posting this to !news@lemmy.world but felt like Red Lobster is basically fast food in a full service style restaurant.