Bankrupt - Red Lobster

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  • Опубліковано 22 гру 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 2,8 тис.

  • @paulrippcord506
    @paulrippcord506 6 місяців тому +3560

    Being lower middle class, I remember that Red Lobster was the fancy place you’d go to for your birthday dinner.

    • @spice2thebrice
      @spice2thebrice 6 місяців тому +105

      Yeah i think I've went there once in my life. The nearest one from me was 1 hour away. Also, expensive dinners did not make sence if you're good at cooking at home.

    • @pleasedontwatchthese9593
      @pleasedontwatchthese9593 6 місяців тому +78

      You explained it perfectly. It was always seen as the fancy place as lower middle class. I think I have been there maybe 1 time in 30 years.

    • @smontone
      @smontone 6 місяців тому +10

      Same

    • @KatIoannou
      @KatIoannou 6 місяців тому +23

      I agree with you. Ive only gone there twice in my life because it’s so expensive.

    • @wintersprite
      @wintersprite 6 місяців тому +7

      I’ve only been once and it was years later than I was originally going to go. My mom had wanted to save up to take me when I was a teen but then our nearest location closed (Olive Garden came within a few years later, although that left three or four years ago, I think).

  • @maeganmonster
    @maeganmonster 6 місяців тому +3028

    My dad knew the owner of our local red lobster. Red lobster "temporarily" closed the restaurant when the pandemic began, but at some point stopped paying rent and totally abandoned the site. The owner let my dad come in and take whatever he wanted, since red lobster wasnt coming back for it. His freezer was stocked with frozen Mac n cheese, cheesecake, etc bulk frozen foods from the restaurant, for months. He also took the dishes, cups, and silverware. Every time I eat at his house I'm like "yep, this is a red lobster cup/plate/fork."

    • @oregonsenior4204
      @oregonsenior4204 6 місяців тому +61

      But what of the owner? Did he lose all that he'd put into the franchise?

    • @YuckFoutube-e1z
      @YuckFoutube-e1z 6 місяців тому +203

      @@oregonsenior4204 They rent they do not own. All that stuff still belongs to red lobster / their liquidators.

    • @kimandre336
      @kimandre336 6 місяців тому +40

      This story sounds like a convincing plot of a drama movie.

    • @nicolita410
      @nicolita410 6 місяців тому +78

      Lmao you go boy, tell your dad I am proud of him

    • @dannydaw59
      @dannydaw59 6 місяців тому +78

      Hope he didn't forget the cheddar biscuit mix. Those are so yummy!

  • @FatherAxeKeeper
    @FatherAxeKeeper 6 місяців тому +447

    Red Lobster opening a location in Japan seemed like a very bold move, as Japan already has a plethora of top of the line seafood restaurants all over the country.

    • @Mecks089
      @Mecks089 6 місяців тому +97

      Based on what I've read a few years ago, most Japanese don't understand Red Lobster until they actually try it, a big thing was butter. Japanese never use butter on their seafood, so the fact that it's practically a nessisary ingredient with most Red Lobster dishes, it blew some of their minds.

    • @kg-Whatthehelliseventhat
      @kg-Whatthehelliseventhat 5 місяців тому +5

      Hi,
      I live in Japan. Where are they opening a RL at?

    • @FatherAxeKeeper
      @FatherAxeKeeper 5 місяців тому +8

      @@kg-Whatthehelliseventhat i was speaking on the early part of the movie where they talked about opening one in the 1970s. I've personally never seen one in Japan modern day.

    • @kg-Whatthehelliseventhat
      @kg-Whatthehelliseventhat 5 місяців тому +6

      @@FatherAxeKeeper oh gotcha, yea I don't think Japanese people would enjoy RL. Maybe if they had sushi... red sushi lobster... oh my.
      Plus they kinda avoid breads and pasta. Rl would have to completely change their whole menu.
      Bobs big boy here does not have hamburger buns... no big boy either. Wtf??? No buns...

    • @FatherAxeKeeper
      @FatherAxeKeeper 5 місяців тому +2

      @@kg-Whatthehelliseventhat lol yes the first culture shock i felt after moving to Japan was going to a Big Boy after a show and finding zero burgers haha. I highly recommend Village Vanguard for a great cheeseburger though! not the bookstore, but a pub of the same name. theres one in Shimokitazawa.

  • @Dcole85
    @Dcole85 6 місяців тому +413

    This feels like the gutting of Toys R Us all over again. Original brand owners did nothing wrong and then in swoops private equity to destroy it.

    • @Tim5corpion
      @Tim5corpion 4 місяці тому +6

      fuck private equity

    • @Oh-That-Guy-Again
      @Oh-That-Guy-Again 3 місяці тому +2

      Locust investors. Buy, plunder, throw away.

    • @tsdobbi
      @tsdobbi 2 місяці тому

      Its not like they were forced to sell.

    • @cocaine_hookers
      @cocaine_hookers 2 місяці тому

      high crime states turning Democrat most everything in blue run states fail. Sad reality mane coon but facts.

  • @jthang7
    @jthang7 6 місяців тому +918

    What I learned from Bankrupt is: Decades old successful company? Going thru hard times ? + Private Equity ^ leveraged buyout = rich get richer and company gets gutted.

    • @chaostheory16
      @chaostheory16 6 місяців тому +49

      Yup. PE generally cannot run companies. Their hearts aren’t in it. I have seen quite a few abysmal failures from PE-run companies, and personally experienced a vendor that was taken over by PE, which absolutely tanked their customer service/experience to an absolutely insane degree. It was like high schoolers were running it, at least from a customer’s standpoint. The height of incompetence and, to me, clearly they are just milking it as a cash cow. Awful.

    • @everythingsalright1121
      @everythingsalright1121 6 місяців тому +16

      Sad part is that a fair bit of the companies on bankrupt were handled well at first

    • @somedude1901
      @somedude1901 6 місяців тому +10

      And everything we enjoy gets worse all the time

    • @SicMetalMaggot4life
      @SicMetalMaggot4life 6 місяців тому +2

      RIP Toys R Us

    • @giancarlofelicianocastaned9316
      @giancarlofelicianocastaned9316 6 місяців тому +5

      ​@@chaostheory16Unless it's Petco yeah your very Right.

  • @dunnowy123
    @dunnowy123 6 місяців тому +1295

    We live in an era where half the companies in the country are run by firms who don't give a shit about the company they own. It's unreal.

    • @DeLorean4
      @DeLorean4 6 місяців тому +105

      It really sucks being an employee at one of them and being powerless at seeing execs actively sabotaging and looting the company.

    • @DieselRamcharger
      @DieselRamcharger 6 місяців тому +47

      singularity. if you own all the competition it makes no sense to keep them all competing and driving down your own bottom line. we are headed into a very dark future

    • @dunnowy123
      @dunnowy123 6 місяців тому +26

      @@DieselRamcharger Well, I'm an optimist. Trends don't continue on forever, especially when consumer and worker backlash is bubbling so strong. I don't think it'll be the case forever; eventually, some businesses will tout that they are succeeding. by, you know, doing GOOD business, and others will hopefully follow.

    • @DieselRamcharger
      @DieselRamcharger 6 місяців тому +14

      @@dunnowy123 You are free to believe whatever you want. Youre wrong. But thats fine.

    • @dunnowy123
      @dunnowy123 6 місяців тому +28

      @@DieselRamcharger LOL ah yes, your view that "trends are unchanging and immutable, despite the obvious backlash the trend is attracting" view really stands up to the test of time. You have no way to predict the future any better than I do

  • @leesweets4110
    @leesweets4110 6 місяців тому +609

    I worked for RL; they suck as a company in general. Abusive.
    While I was there I saw them fire an older woman who was only two weeks out from a company retirement.
    They dont do those retirement packages anymore but she was grandfathered in from the early days of the company.
    Instead of giving it to her they found an excuse to fire her without benefits, after probably nearly a half century of devoted service.

    • @ChromaKeyMystress
      @ChromaKeyMystress 6 місяців тому +187

      I hope she sued them

    • @anthonysoto2788
      @anthonysoto2788 6 місяців тому +6

      Her fault

    • @iwaswrongabouteveryhthing
      @iwaswrongabouteveryhthing 6 місяців тому +2

      rough

    • @Dumbrarere
      @Dumbrarere 6 місяців тому +16

      ​@@anthonysoto2788 how is that her fault? If she was devoted to her work and worked for that long, that would imply she did nothing to deserve being fired. It's literally greed at its finest.

    • @Aex3f4
      @Aex3f4 6 місяців тому +75

      @@anthonysoto2788 How?

  • @christopherbarton7966
    @christopherbarton7966 6 місяців тому +1071

    From someone who’s worked in enough corporate companies over the years, I learned real quick that just because you sit in a lavish office/boardroom doesn’t make you an expert on what the company does that you work for and make policies and procedures on. You may be able to crunch numbers, but if you have no idea on how the actual operations work in the factories/retail/restaurants, etc…, you have no business being an executive for that company. And yes that is Al Bundy celebrating at Red Lobster after scoring 4 touchdowns in one game!

    • @OfficialROZWBRAZEL
      @OfficialROZWBRAZEL 6 місяців тому +42

      How many companies/chains have to be sacrificed before this lesson is learned? 😞

    • @DavidLimofLimReport
      @DavidLimofLimReport 6 місяців тому +55

      @@OfficialROZWBRAZELAnd this is why McDonald’s survives to this day. The career progression is seriously underrated. The top know what its like to be successful because they’ve actually been behind the counters and grills and know what is expected by the company and customer.

    • @dbdchristopher
      @dbdchristopher 6 місяців тому +4

      ​@DavidLimofLimReport who really does that?

    • @zix1257
      @zix1257 6 місяців тому +19

      and yet they are worshiped as gods by a certain demographic.

    • @Three_Random_Words
      @Three_Random_Words 6 місяців тому +8

      @@zix1257 Like Jack Welch of GE fame? I've heard the execs who took over Boeing after the merger were big Welch fans.

  • @mitchellangelo86
    @mitchellangelo86 6 місяців тому +103

    My parents loved Red Lobster. We went there all the time when I was a kid. We last went in 2015ish, not long after my dad's health started failing. My parents passed in 2022.
    Last month, my son randomly wanted to go to red lobster (not long after the bankruptcy announcement). So, we went. And we had a great time! It brought back a lot of memories for me, we both thought the food was delicious, and the staff was super friendly! They even let him "hold" a lobster.
    I think that's the real tragedy of these poor decisions made by these corporate entities: they impact our friends and neighbors who are just trying to make a living.
    I hope we can go back soon to support these folks. Good video!

    • @Voicesofdoom_legacy
      @Voicesofdoom_legacy 3 місяці тому +3

      I got to hold a lobster there too! It’s pretty cool we got to have the same experience

    • @Kayla-hs9rt
      @Kayla-hs9rt 3 місяці тому +3

      You didn’t notice the change in quality of the food when you last went??? Food is not good anymore and extremely overpriced 💯

    • @mitchellangelo86
      @mitchellangelo86 3 місяці тому +2

      @@Kayla-hs9rt no

  • @bobdobalina838
    @bobdobalina838 6 місяців тому +143

    Lobsters everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief.

    • @Nookdashiddole
      @Nookdashiddole 3 місяці тому

      Lobsters don't sigh

    • @ciberkid22
      @ciberkid22 2 місяці тому

      ​@@Nookdashiddole not until now

    • @Johny9405
      @Johny9405 Місяць тому

      Maybe lobster will be cheap again

  • @ChestersButterfly
    @ChestersButterfly 6 місяців тому +748

    Not gonna lie, when I saw Red Lobsters closing their doors around my hometown, my first thought was, 'Bright Sun Films' gonna do a video on this to make it real.

    • @KimberlyJohnson-ps8zq
      @KimberlyJohnson-ps8zq 6 місяців тому +13

      LOL! I passed by the Red Lobster close to my house. Went to check UA-cam a few hours later and saw the Bright Sun Films episode. I was like oh no! It’s really real!

    • @bregjejabra25
      @bregjejabra25 6 місяців тому +4

      Lol.

    • @scipioafricanus4328
      @scipioafricanus4328 6 місяців тому +7

      Was that Ed O’Neil (Al Bundy) in one of the ads?

    • @tomcerra6930
      @tomcerra6930 6 місяців тому

      I thought the same ​@@scipioafricanus4328

    • @kellychuang8373
      @kellychuang8373 6 місяців тому

      Also suspected that and who knows maybe could do a future video about the 99 Cents Only Store or the notorious Chi-Chis restaurant as another ideas though not right away really have to think on that anyway tell Jake about that or Google and YT it too.

  • @kenmmcnatt
    @kenmmcnatt 6 місяців тому +195

    Your comment on mainstream media coverage is spot on. They tend to reduce things to the lowest common denominator. This is why I watch channels like yours for a much more detailed analysis.

    • @idontevenknow9758
      @idontevenknow9758 6 місяців тому +18

      yeah he does a great job peeling back the layers. It was just like with Bed Bath, higher ups making just atrocious choices that compounded overtime.

    • @JasonAdank
      @JasonAdank 6 місяців тому +14

      I swear, watching the MSM about literally anything makes you dumber...

    • @DieselRamcharger
      @DieselRamcharger 6 місяців тому +5

      @@JasonAdank that is their point and purpose.

    • @shcdemolisher
      @shcdemolisher 6 місяців тому +2

      @@DieselRamcharger Even though we should be reversing that. Maximum information, not dumbing anything down. We are gonna reach a point where the public NEEDS to know everything otherwise we fail as a civilization.

  • @AurumKHK
    @AurumKHK 6 місяців тому +357

    I could hear the laughter underneath the words "private equity firm".

    • @somethinglikethat2176
      @somethinglikethat2176 6 місяців тому +31

      I love how offen private companies raise billions in funding funded by private equity with the dream of conquering all and when it comes time to cash out and go public the general market and public investors just look at it and say "you're losing money, you have no plan to make a profit" and the company turns and says "but look at the growth" and the public says "so you have a plan to get bigger and burn more money faster? Cool, hard pass."
      And that's why SPACs are popular I guess.

    • @Alex-cw3rz
      @Alex-cw3rz 6 місяців тому +1

      ​@@somethinglikethat2176 that's not what happens they sold off all of red lobsters property raising 1.6 billion for themselves they then piled on debt to red lobster which doesn't effect the private equity firm while taking money out to give to themselves. They make money either way, it just destroys thousands of people's lives and national institutions. But private equity doesn't care because they get money.

  • @KingAndy22
    @KingAndy22 6 місяців тому +50

    I worked at red lobster for 9 years. From 2013 - 2022…. All of this makes so much sense. All these changes were definitely felt by the staff… I remember coworkers saying RL wouldn’t last long after Darden dropped them. It kinda crazy looking at the story this way and not thru the lens of an employee.

    • @dacksonflux
      @dacksonflux 5 місяців тому +3

      I worked there from 2013 to 2016. We went through a similar experience. Everyone knew the restaurant was in trouble when they changed our uniforms. Those new aprons were garbage.

  • @chingasofarkaso
    @chingasofarkaso 2 місяці тому +6

    Ed O’Neill just casually showing up in a retro Red Lobster ad just made my week.

  • @SomeRandomDude2020
    @SomeRandomDude2020 6 місяців тому +867

    The story is so typical of corporate America today. At some point in your video you mentioned that Red Lobster had plateaued, but they were “stable and profitable”. Unfortunately, for corporate America that doesn’t work today, we have to have quarterly growth eternally.🤬🤬🤬

    • @LrulestheworldM8
      @LrulestheworldM8 6 місяців тому +51

      They were only stable and profitable because they made serious wage cuts and scaled back the quality of the food. Darden did that in the hopes of selling the brand to someone else. It had been struggling for years.

    • @Alex-cw3rz
      @Alex-cw3rz 6 місяців тому +40

      Private equity

    • @jameswilkie9040
      @jameswilkie9040 6 місяців тому

      Red Lobster went the way of U.S. Government. Complete and total gross misappropriation of $. Such as $ to support illegals, $ for the Ukraine War and Israeli WAR as well. Biden is foolishly spending Taxpayers $ and we are 35 Trillion indebt. No business sense at all.

    • @MrBibi86
      @MrBibi86 6 місяців тому +37

      sadly, a profit or breaking even isn't good enough anymore. it has to be a 25% profit over last quarter or it's a loss

    • @ChromaKeyMystress
      @ChromaKeyMystress 6 місяців тому +9

      weird that you say that because it was a foreign company that killed them - it did start with original owners, but the people they sold the company to who in turn sold the company and then cold it again is what killed it.

  • @TheRealMrAndrew
    @TheRealMrAndrew 6 місяців тому +206

    Anytime a private equity firm comes in, it’s only a matter of time before the doors close for good. Leasebacks are ALWAYS a sign the end is near because now every location is now that much less profitable because they now have to pay rent every month. I worked for a now defunct big box retailers who went through this. Our monthly rent in 2008 was 80 grand a month, or about a quarter of our monthly sales.

    • @ronniepratt8710
      @ronniepratt8710 6 місяців тому +15

      Look what they did to Sears. Completely demolished the business and never had any intention of making it work in the retail space.

    • @TheRealMrAndrew
      @TheRealMrAndrew 6 місяців тому +4

      @@ronniepratt8710 I worked there, too. Guess what happened to the store I worked in? Yep. Closed.

    • @imnitguy
      @imnitguy 6 місяців тому +9

      See Also: SEARS, KMART and Eddie Lambert. It's about the land not the business to them.

    • @victorlovisa9966
      @victorlovisa9966 6 місяців тому +5

      @@imnitguy What you said is 100% correct, but the weird thing is, why is Lambert just sitting on the land so many of these Sears were located on? The Sears at my mall closed several years ago. The mall is still a successful Simon-owned mall with 3 other current anchors. Local media has interviewed Simon reps from Indianapolis on several occasions. The mall reps say they'd love the opportunity to move forward with the abandoned Sears site, but the owners (Lambert's company) are apparently in no hurry to sell. So the Sears space just continues to sit empty. It's curious to me.

    • @rarefruit2320
      @rarefruit2320 6 місяців тому

      @@victorlovisa9966I think companies aren’t going to be selling land as much with such high inflation. USD isn’t worth much and could go to zero overnight. And they could be getting paid through the new “B Corp” scam

  • @sharpshooterpeonnut6919
    @sharpshooterpeonnut6919 6 місяців тому +196

    "Bankruptcy is a word that is often misunderstood. It does not mean we are going out of business. It simply means that all of our locations except for maybe one in New York City, one in Chicago and one in Los Angeles are closing forever. "

    • @Dwall44
      @Dwall44 6 місяців тому +11

      So they’re not closing every single location? Please say yes, because I can’t process cheddar bay biscuits being a thing of the past lol.

    • @jaybruno3571
      @jaybruno3571 6 місяців тому

      @@Dwall44they sell them in the supermarket or make them yourselves you lazy dweller 😂

    • @cekojuna6930
      @cekojuna6930 6 місяців тому +7

      They can go out of business but gets picked up by locals. Blockbusters is a prime example.
      Held by locals but the company itself is bankrupt and closed down.

    • @HardPourCorn
      @HardPourCorn 6 місяців тому +2

      ​@@Dwall44You can find plenty of recipes for them online. Worry not.

    • @NotaPizzaGRL
      @NotaPizzaGRL 6 місяців тому +4

      @@Dwall44 Bet if Thai Union sticks around they'll close all the restaurants and just stick to selling what's left on grocery shelves. It's not a coincidence that they started selling frozen meals recently. They may not know how to run a restaurant but they may know a thing or two about distributing frozen goods.

  • @454k30
    @454k30 6 місяців тому +57

    How Amazon or Netflix isn’t hurling money at you for this work (maybe they are) is shocking. This series is better than anything I see on any streaming service.

    • @gypsywoman9140
      @gypsywoman9140 5 місяців тому +4

      It would probably be hard but smart to say No to an Amazon or Netflix deal. So many good series die before getting a second season meanwhile other shows like Big Mouth or that re-imagining of LOTR.....

  • @KENTROVERSY86
    @KENTROVERSY86 6 місяців тому +19

    Had a Red Lobster 10 minutes from my house that caught fire over 2 years ago. It's sat abandoned and was never even cleaned out, let alone renovated. That told me back then that the company was on the edge and not going to bother reopening it.

  • @citizenofcorona8783
    @citizenofcorona8783 6 місяців тому +457

    I've also noticed red lobster declined heavily in quality. The last few times I went too, the restaurant was almost completely empty.

    • @T3mikelee
      @T3mikelee 6 місяців тому +13

      100% Couldn't agree more.

    • @josephreeves9347
      @josephreeves9347 6 місяців тому +31

      I heard someone close to me recently say that, when going out to eat after church or another occasion, if they get to Olive Garden or Cheddars or Texas Roadhouse or wherever, and the wait line is too long, Red Lobster is the backup plan because there's never a wait. So that's good....AND bad.

    • @ChromaKeyMystress
      @ChromaKeyMystress 6 місяців тому +21

      if the restaurant is almost empty when you go to eat - it's not a good thing because you are eating old food.

    • @T3mikelee
      @T3mikelee 6 місяців тому +5

      @@ChromaKeyMystress Yep. & it usually means the cook sucks. Which is why no one is there in the first place, bad prices &/or bad food. Lol.

    • @marquisethomas5611
      @marquisethomas5611 6 місяців тому +3

      It didnt decline, it failed to innovate & everybody else caught up

  • @leew878
    @leew878 6 місяців тому +164

    I have fond memories of this restaurant. My Grandfather would take me every Friday night after my Grandmother passed away in 1986. The food was good during that time period but over the years it went down. I live on the Gulf Coast so many people asked themselves; why go to a place and be served frozen seafood when we have fresh seafood restaurants 10 miles down the road on the water. None the less, Red Lobster had its place in time and left me with memories of me and my Grandfather that not everyone had and that I will never forget.

    • @icosthop9998
      @icosthop9998 6 місяців тому +2

      Nice 😊

    • @sonjagatto9981
      @sonjagatto9981 6 місяців тому +3

      Schoene Erinnerung an Opa❣

    • @lookoutforchris
      @lookoutforchris 6 місяців тому +5

      I love these old commercials. Not a single black face.

    • @DieselRamcharger
      @DieselRamcharger 6 місяців тому +2

      grew up in coastal virginia. had to drive past a dozen fresh seafood places to go to red lobster, but as kids we loved the place in the 80's. The cheddar biscuits were a large part of that! It went steadily downhill through the 90s though. I think we took my son once in the mid 2000's and it was pretty terrible.

    • @Tolltale
      @Tolltale 6 місяців тому +1

      Bruh that makes me cry 😭

  • @easycake3251
    @easycake3251 6 місяців тому +143

    I am not from the US. And we dont have Red Lobsters in Austria where I am from. But I do have family in the US, and I have dined at a RL back in the 90's and early 2k's. And it was very delicious.
    Fast forward to 2022, I am married, and went back to the US with my wife. Iv been telling her how good RL was, sure it was probably not a high quality level of food, but still good.
    We went into the restaurant, and I swear... ALL the food we had had the same texture as rubber. No flavor, and looked like you got it all from a TV dinner. It was such a shock. My wife looked at me confused, because why would she not be.
    We went to a Dennies the next day...my idea. Lets just say I dont make any more food decisions in our house...

    • @stellamcwick8455
      @stellamcwick8455 6 місяців тому +28

      To be fair, your impression was based on an experience you had nearly 30 years prior. The quality was much better then so you are not wrong. RL was good in 90’s. Your wife should forgive you on this one.
      The Denny’s decision though………. you are on your own for that one. That is unforgivable.😂

    • @AquarianNomadic
      @AquarianNomadic 6 місяців тому +3

      *Denny's

      Hasn't been good since the 1980s.

    • @JasonAdank
      @JasonAdank 6 місяців тому +1

      lol. your wife was like wtf is wrong with you, this is sht! Im sorry honey, it was actually good once many decades ago....

    • @easycake3251
      @easycake3251 6 місяців тому +1

      @@JasonAdank That about covers it hah xD

    • @bluecoin3771
      @bluecoin3771 6 місяців тому

      I have no Red Lobsters in my state, we have enough local seafood joints that we don’t need RL.

  • @derekrequiem4359
    @derekrequiem4359 6 місяців тому +12

    "Sir please it's been 3 days I want to go home..."
    "YOU SAID *ENDLESS* SHRIMP!!!!!!"

  • @MinecraftRedOFFICAL
    @MinecraftRedOFFICAL 6 місяців тому +9

    To be honest, the Intro is sick! It's almost like it's from a TV documentary show.

  • @KannikCat
    @KannikCat 6 місяців тому +1278

    I hadn't been to a Red Lobster in years, but my family ate there not infrequently in the 80s and 90s. I had heard their quality had gone down... alas, what happens when private equity gets their pincers on a brand.

    • @narreths
      @narreths 6 місяців тому +79

      Pincers. Hah.

    • @goosenotmaverick1156
      @goosenotmaverick1156 6 місяців тому +47

      We stopped going a couple years ago after successively worse and worse experiences with the food itself.

    • @KrustyKlown
      @KrustyKlown 6 місяців тому +8

      the quality was pretty sad in 80/90's... when I stopped going there

    • @jeremyjones7436
      @jeremyjones7436 6 місяців тому +63

      Instead of “not infrequently”, how about you just say “frequently”

    • @dancooper6002
      @dancooper6002 6 місяців тому +65

      What has killed Red Lobster has been the same process that has been killing similar restaurants and retail establishments for a few decades at this point. Red Lobster, just like Sears, is a company built to cater to the middle class. Its product and price point are intended for the middle class consumer. That pool of consumers has been disappearing as the American middle class has shrunk and largely disappeared.
      This decline has been a long time coming, and has many facets. Acquisition and destruction by Private Equity is a common theme in these cases, but it is not the root cause, more of a proximate process by which these things happen. Nor is the news of the endless shrimp promotion killing the chain remotely accurate, an $11 Million dollar loss cannot kill a chain of that size unless it was already on its deathbed.
      Often in cases like this people will point to a decline in quality of food or service the last time they were there and conclude that is the reason for the chain's decline. Some will even make the flippant comment that the chain "deserved" to fail. This however misses the fact that decline of quality and service is a symptom, not a root cause. As the chain begins to struggle economically it becomes less and less able to offer quality service and food. It does eventually produce a feedback cycle, but the notion that one day the chain stopped serving quality for no reason is fanciful.
      The root cause of the decline of Red Lobster is the decline of the middle class, which was in turn the result of the decline of manufacturing which came about from bad trade, tax, economic, fiscal, environmental, foreign, and industrial policies.

  • @raflamar4146
    @raflamar4146 6 місяців тому +105

    I've noticed a pattern with this smaller, affordable food locations. They start of with great quality and affordability, then expand beyond their capacity, quality goes down and become unaffordable. Resulting in bankruptcy
    I think if many restaurant chains like Red Lobster may have faired better had they remained fewer, with higher quality

    • @fallonsky_
      @fallonsky_ 6 місяців тому +9

      I mean thats pretty much the life cycle of most restaurants

    • @bumponlog
      @bumponlog 6 місяців тому +2

      That's pretty much in-n-out's strategy

    • @paiganbrady6200
      @paiganbrady6200 2 місяці тому

      That has what has happened to Carl Jr's in Australia. They had only just started to get into our fast food market, but a bit late. We are saturated in American fast food restaurants. Taco Bell arrived here 5 years ago, runs under the same company that took on Carl Jr's. But that company is making a lot of money anyway and never needed to add Carl Jr's. They own KFC and a few other brands that are successful and won't go out of business.
      Carl Jr's cannot compete in Australia. Not when it tastes exactly the same as Hungry Jack's ( Burger king for the rest of the world)

  • @oldnoob1917
    @oldnoob1917 6 місяців тому +105

    I worked at a Red Lobster in 2011. It was an ok job over all. I worked in the kitchen and prepping shrimp for hours while standing on concrete was so much fun. I liked doing the expediting. I'm happy to see I left at a good time a couple years later. Good video

    • @bb-sd8eg
      @bb-sd8eg 6 місяців тому +6

      I also worked there in the 90’s. It was one of my first jobs and I enjoyed the same positions.
      It was very rewarding working there in its hay day

  • @dokdirge
    @dokdirge 3 місяці тому +2

    I remember going to Red Lobster was a special event as a kid, like for my birthday or if I made honor roll. This was in the early 90s. Good memories, loved the shrimp scampi.
    Great channel, my man. Informative and entertaining without adding a whole lot of editorial opinions. You def deserve the million plus subs youve got!

  • @1SmokingLizard
    @1SmokingLizard 6 місяців тому +10

    When you upgraded to Red Lobs from Sizzler, you knew dinner was gonna be a treat!

  • @pekko_uk
    @pekko_uk 6 місяців тому +450

    A young Al Bundy makes an appearance @4:00 :D

    • @mattwall4149
      @mattwall4149 6 місяців тому +36

      I was just coming to call that out lol. Great catch!

    • @yasumitsunaka6094
      @yasumitsunaka6094 6 місяців тому +36

      Ed O'Neill…

    • @Erik_The_Viking
      @Erik_The_Viking 6 місяців тому +13

      I noticed that too and then noticed your comment

    • @ZhovtoBlakytniy
      @ZhovtoBlakytniy 6 місяців тому +16

      I was going to comment that, but looked to see if anyone else noticed.😀

    • @TC-tw5zk
      @TC-tw5zk 6 місяців тому +10

      Good call...I wonder was that before married with children?

  • @Voltergeist
    @Voltergeist 6 місяців тому +91

    I really thought you were going to say "Drowning in an ocean...of endless shrimp", you had me there for a second.

    • @NicholasShade-eq1ts
      @NicholasShade-eq1ts 6 місяців тому +1

      This is sad.☹️ Sad like the phone card I'm on. 😢 I bought a 40 dollar phone card, because I didn't have enough for the 55 dollar one. And man I am paying for it. ♂️ 👞 I love my phone company, but the 40 dollar card is just not worth it. 📱 After 15 GB, the service goes to 2G on the 40 dollar card. I've been having some really crappy luck here lately. For about the last 2 years, or so. First, my dad died. Then my grandfather died. I haven't won any money at the casino in a while.🩷

  • @sithherrera5183
    @sithherrera5183 2 місяці тому +2

    Worked there in 2010 to like 2013 and oh boy had the best time and made incredible friendships and connections, thanks to all my people there and thanks Red Lobster by Meadows in Vegas

  • @martinhill486
    @martinhill486 6 місяців тому +21

    At this point if a Private Equity firm buys something you can be certain that in just a few years it will be gone. Buy, load the firm with the purchase debt, sell the good stuff - like the land under the building, and collect rents as long as possible while servicing the debt you put them under. And when the banks won't lend you any more money you burn it for the insurance...no that was Goodfellas...bankrupt and walk away. Lather rinse repeat.

    • @shcdemolisher
      @shcdemolisher 6 місяців тому

      Until we reach a point where PE's are gutted as a practice for hording too much money and when society improves.

  • @HighlanderMC
    @HighlanderMC 6 місяців тому +258

    A few weeks ago when I heard Red Lobster went bankrupt, the only thing that came to mind was Jake making a video on it as soon as possible

    • @evelynmelendez8318
      @evelynmelendez8318 6 місяців тому +3

      we both have the same mindset when i see like corporate business going out of business i say "ohh jake is probably going to make video about this soon". or like make video about this.

    • @ChristionGirl45
      @ChristionGirl45 6 місяців тому +2

      I thought the same thing! And I'm glad he did!! ❤

    • @KatIoannou
      @KatIoannou 6 місяців тому +1

      Same

  • @Lord_Horker
    @Lord_Horker 6 місяців тому +97

    Last time I was there I was stunned by the pricing like everything was at least 125% more expensive than even 2022

    • @ghosty4
      @ghosty4 6 місяців тому +21

      Exactly. They don't provide an upscale experience, why in the hell were they charging so much?! It's a platter of deep fried food! Why is it almost $40?!

    • @richardcranium3579
      @richardcranium3579 6 місяців тому +5

      Have you shopped anywhere else lately?
      The government says it’s only “9%” inflation rate…….🤦‍♂️

    • @1johncabs
      @1johncabs 6 місяців тому +1

      Elections have consequences. Economics matter.

    • @Lord_Horker
      @Lord_Horker 6 місяців тому

      @@1johncabs Barely, our government suckles at the teets of mega corporations and the ultra wealthy hardly matters what senile 80 yr old is in office

    • @Lord_Horker
      @Lord_Horker 6 місяців тому +3

      @@richardcranium3579 Yeah, the inflation rate probably is 9% but these huge companies can just raise individual prices as much as they want so it feels way worse

  • @twiztedmind864
    @twiztedmind864 6 місяців тому +46

    Can't believe how much this channel has grown since I started watching. Guess that's what happens when you put out quality content. Thank you for the entertainment you have provided.

  • @bbsbmi
    @bbsbmi 4 місяці тому +2

    Love your videos. They really tell us so much about backgrounds of companies

  • @rocketdude2969
    @rocketdude2969 6 місяців тому +5

    Way back in the late 90s Red Lobster became a yearly tradition. Usually around the NFL playoffs and even if our team didn't win it was off to Red Lobster . It's sad to see a company so well know looking at an unknown future.

  • @GeminiWoods
    @GeminiWoods 6 місяців тому +83

    Worked at Redlobster for 13 years. Got into management after about 9 years. I will say they treated their managers fucking horribly. The VPs were constantly rotating in and out. We had 3 different directors durning my management string. Quit in 2016, and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

    • @davidcox3076
      @davidcox3076 4 місяці тому

      Sounds like you saw the writing on the wall.

  • @swilkobarfingtoniii1642
    @swilkobarfingtoniii1642 6 місяців тому +90

    Fun Fact: Many of the Red Lobster's Canadian locations were originally defunct Ponderosa/ Bonanza Steakhouse restaurants.

    • @leonnahofer9138
      @leonnahofer9138 6 місяців тому +4

      I live in Colorado and used to love Bonanza. Greatest salad bar ever! You didn’t even need the steaks lol. Edit to add : sadly there are no more Bonanzas.

    • @foxtech1068
      @foxtech1068 6 місяців тому +5

      There are still Ponderosa and Bonanza locations in Puerto Rico

    • @billwendell6886
      @billwendell6886 6 місяців тому +3

      If it weren't for them, I would never have eaten steak again, my mother cooked it into oblivion.

    • @luckyguy600
      @luckyguy600 5 місяців тому +1

      True. There is a restaurant building in Brampton Ontario Canada that was the one and only site of 'Burger Chief'
      Now there was an American chain from the past. The building basically looks just like it did originally. Didnt last long as a burger joint though.
      Just a few stores down from Fuddruckers in Brampton.
      Things change and we all get old.

    • @swilkobarfingtoniii1642
      @swilkobarfingtoniii1642 5 місяців тому

      @@billwendell6886 When my parents split, my dad and I would go to Ponderosa once a week. I was a growing boy and my dad would buy me two rib eye steaks. Very fond memories of the place and time.

  • @ivanadragmire2873
    @ivanadragmire2873 6 місяців тому +23

    man, this hits a little hard tbh. when i was a kid, Redlobster was this family meet up restaurant. aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins would all meet up there every so often for a seafood meal and catch up. the one near where i grew up had a lobster tank in the waiting area (the residents of which usually found themselves on man a meal plate) and i loved to reach down and try to grab one when my grandparents weren't looking.

  • @yeagercomics
    @yeagercomics 4 місяці тому +2

    I KNEW IT. As soon as i saw the headlines I knew there had to be way more to the story than just “oops we gave away too much shrimp”. You gotta have way more problems behind the scenes for a problem like that not to be easily coarse corrected.

  • @Crazyguy_123MC
    @Crazyguy_123MC 6 місяців тому +3

    It’s sad that it’s falling. This place was my childhood. The ones near me have all closed. We heard from people who worked there that they weren’t told that their location was closing. They came in for work to see the doors locked and a note saying they closed down. I hope they can make a comeback.

  • @Johnnyboy000
    @Johnnyboy000 6 місяців тому +77

    My sister asked me why Red Lobster went bankrupt. I answered her by saying, "If there are 3 restaurants you can't live without, Red Lobster is on no one's list." I think that's what best describes the company.

    • @joesmith9216
      @joesmith9216 6 місяців тому +3

      one by me rules

    • @BoratWanksta
      @BoratWanksta 6 місяців тому +11

      They're the Applebee's of seafood. Of course, I'm not surprised Red Lobster isn't doing well.

    • @someguy1865
      @someguy1865 6 місяців тому +2

      ​@@BoratWankstadamn. I kinda like Applebee's... even more so than TGIF

    • @commentbot9510
      @commentbot9510 6 місяців тому +3

      It’s on mine 😭

    • @tizzlekizzle
      @tizzlekizzle 4 місяці тому

      I miss Ruby Tuesday's. They had the best cheeseburger and fries.

  • @DJTheMetalheadMercenary
    @DJTheMetalheadMercenary 6 місяців тому +86

    Man, the closures happened so fast recently, the 3 nearest me are gone. The fresh Lobster was always a highlight aside from grilled Shrimp and the Biscuits. RIP.

    • @riddell26
      @riddell26 6 місяців тому +18

      Its wasnt fresh. The tank lobsters were for show. They served frozen lobster tails

    • @Black0bsidian
      @Black0bsidian 6 місяців тому +1

      You ain’t lyin. My grandma wanted to go on her birthday the day after it was CLOSED!!!!

    • @sayto_00
      @sayto_00 6 місяців тому +2

      My local area still got 10 Red Lobsters open if you're willing to go down to Florida for them lol.

    • @stever7157
      @stever7157 6 місяців тому +3

      @@sayto_00Plenty of fresh local seafood places are around in Florida. Why waste time going to RL? If you are in Kansas, I get it.

  • @brooksrownd2275
    @brooksrownd2275 6 місяців тому +39

    Red Lobster was high dining for us landlocked suburbanites of the 1970s. To a kid it was a fantasyland of exotic cuisine from storybook places. At the time seafood at home was tasteless planks of frozen white fish. I'd guess my last visit was around 1985, when the brand started to seem a bit old fashioned. My family also didn't really like the big restaurant chains anyway.

    • @lookoutforchris
      @lookoutforchris 6 місяців тому

      Red Lobster went black… and now they can never come back 😂

  • @ColeWalker
    @ColeWalker 3 місяці тому +6

    They made an official announcement they’ve exited their bankruptcy and have new owners.

  • @risingembersgaming7740
    @risingembersgaming7740 6 місяців тому +4

    It feels weird watching this for free. You are doing great work

  • @cpnquack
    @cpnquack 6 місяців тому +39

    Now, it’s not unheard of that a private equity firm can acquire a business and successfully continue to run it; and oh boy Thai Union successfully ran it.. into the ground.
    Thanks again for making these videos, Jake! A lot of these bankruptcies and executive failures would be forgotten to history, but you continue to bring it to the limelight, which many like me greatly appreciate

    • @Andum48
      @Andum48 6 місяців тому +2

      Ok I'll bite, name a business successfully run by a private equity firm for more then 5 years.

    • @cpnquack
      @cpnquack 6 місяців тому

      @@Andum48 After a bit of research, I stumbled upon Blackstone Inc., a massive private equity firm. They run many companies, mainly Hilton Worldwide Services, which is also a massive hospitality company in it of themselves: Blackstone has held an ownership stake in the company since 2007.

  • @MsJenniferTheAwesome
    @MsJenniferTheAwesome 6 місяців тому +35

    Please do a video on Friendlys. It was one of the most well known chains in all of New England and the East Coast. I grew up in a small town that had 2 of them. They were shockingly popular. But by my late teens/early 20s (2014-16ish) they suddenly started losing popularity and then almost all of them closed across the east coast. I’d love to hear your take on their business.

    • @BrightSunFilms
      @BrightSunFilms  6 місяців тому +16

      It’s on the to do list!

    • @UnicornDreamsPastelSkies
      @UnicornDreamsPastelSkies 6 місяців тому +2

      Good Burger 2 filmed its' titular restaurant scenes inside a former Friendlys in North Providence, RI.

    • @kratze1738
      @kratze1738 6 місяців тому

      I used to work at a Friendly's in Ohio when I was younger. It wasn't very good and neither was I; merely the fact that they were letting me wait tables (!) was a bad sign of things to come. The ice cream was the only really special thing on the menu, the rest of the food was meh. And if you were one of my mean customers, I sincerely apologize and promise you I got out of the waiting business quickly after that.

    • @mistermann3225
      @mistermann3225 5 місяців тому +1

      I remember Friendly's. There are still a few that survive. I'm from Maryland and there's at least one in Glen Burnie. It's super tiny though. The food was pretty good and the ice cream sundaes were delicious. It was a great place to go with family.

    • @truecatholic1
      @truecatholic1 4 місяці тому

      @@BrightSunFilms I possibly could save Red Lobster. If you are interested I will share.

  • @Krunchy71
    @Krunchy71 6 місяців тому +23

    The decline of red lobster makes me really sad. I have very fond memories of going as a young kid. Private equity are parasites that will destroy our economy.

  • @DRNicholasJones
    @DRNicholasJones 6 місяців тому +3

    I still love red lobster so many great memories of family gatherings , birthdays , anniversary’s etc .

  • @jovishark
    @jovishark 6 місяців тому +1

    I worked at Red Lobster from 2019-2021. I was BOH and dishwasher. When the pandemic hit, we had one dishwasher during the day (me) and it was hellish. Our line cooks were great, but they ended up quitting to work at the steakhouse across the street when we all came back to work. My manager, the building owner, had to run the line or do dishes sometimes to keep the place afloat. We did our best. After I quit, I went back to that same location in 2022 for my birthday and I got the worst food poisoning I've ever had. Thanks for the memories, Red Lobster.

  • @staycgirlsitsgoingdown2
    @staycgirlsitsgoingdown2 6 місяців тому +146

    I love the fact that “shrimpfest was too successful” was partially related to the bankruptcy of red lobster

    • @anniemayflower9187
      @anniemayflower9187 6 місяців тому

      You like killing animals

    • @TeriLynn923
      @TeriLynn923 6 місяців тому +1

      Right? 😂

    • @cgschow1971
      @cgschow1971 6 місяців тому +17

      I'm calling BS on that. Lot's more going wrong.

    • @Troy_Built
      @Troy_Built 6 місяців тому

      @@cgschow1971 Like being looted by management.

    • @somethinglikethat2176
      @somethinglikethat2176 6 місяців тому +23

      ​@@cgschow1971 well yes, in the end it was a majority shareholder abusing their power to force RL take a big loss to direct money from RL into the majority shareholder's other businesses (lawsuits have already been filed).
      However previous owners made the mistake of waving the red flag of "all you can eat" at a customer base who view such offers as a personal challenge.

  • @jbirzer
    @jbirzer 6 місяців тому +86

    One of the things missing from this analysis is that the consolidation of seafood suppliers hurt Red Lobster, and is probably the reason why Darden moved away from the brand. Before, there were hundreds of suppliers and they could negotiate good deals on seafood to make it affordable. With the consolidation (which Thai Union was one of), it was harder to get deals that would fit their business model. To be honest, it was going to be hard sailing for them, even before private equity raided their assets.

    • @ChromaKeyMystress
      @ChromaKeyMystress 6 місяців тому +16

      You're not correct about that. With a name like Red Lobster, any sea food company would want them as a customer - a life long customer at that and they would bend over backwards to get them the seafood at the price they needed it. I know this because I work in food on that level. Their biggest problem was using an international supplier period. Had they used local fisheries in US and surrounding waters product, they would have kept their costs down since international shipping costs have quadrupled in the last 5 years. AND shipping delays cause issues too. Price per lb. will just keep skyrocketing - mostly because of the logistics.

    • @glennac
      @glennac 6 місяців тому +10

      @@ChromaKeyMystress Yet, as with farming, “local” fishing has consolidated and become more corporately operated over time. There are fewer and fewer “little guys” anymore which limits options for food chains. Factor in natural disasters (Hurricanes, etc), oil spills (Deepwater Horizon), and government regulations, and it’s no wonder food chains will partner with foreign suppliers who can guarantee a constant supply of product. Yes, it can be shortsighted. And no one can predict financial crises like 2008 or the Covid Pandemic. So many factors that can contribute to temporary success or long term failure. 🤷🏻‍♂️

  • @twenty47pimpin
    @twenty47pimpin 6 місяців тому +71

    4:00 I didn't expect to see Al Bundy in a Red Lobster commercial 😂😂😂

    • @ChromaKeyMystress
      @ChromaKeyMystress 6 місяців тому +4

      yeah well he's an actor sooooooooooo

    • @bluecoin3771
      @bluecoin3771 6 місяців тому +6

      He didn’t tell Peggy he was eating there so he could finally have some good grub for himself.

    • @almostontimehero5415
      @almostontimehero5415 6 місяців тому +1

      When Mr. High school quarter back star eats at a place, you take notice.

    • @Stelletti
      @Stelletti 5 місяців тому

      1985

  • @DWhytePA
    @DWhytePA 6 місяців тому +4

    Since 1987 (the year we got married), my husband and I have had lunch at Red Lobster every Christmas Eve. It's kind of sad to lose that tradition. 😥

  • @NatYourAverageNerd
    @NatYourAverageNerd 6 місяців тому +2

    I'm 30 years old and have never once been inside a Red Lobster, so it's news to me that this company was as beloved and as popular as it was leading up to this sad time in its history. There is one within walking distance of my apartment, but I don't know how much longer it will be there. I'll have to pop in to see what it looks like before it goes.

  • @littlemisstfc
    @littlemisstfc 6 місяців тому +257

    Gotta stock up on them cheddar biscuit boxes from Sam’s Club, lads.

    • @KaminoKatie
      @KaminoKatie 6 місяців тому +14

      Or save up those imitation cheddar bay biscuit recipes

    • @LlamaBobby
      @LlamaBobby 6 місяців тому +15

      $2.99 at Big Lots!

    • @fallout560
      @fallout560 6 місяців тому +21

      they're not chapter 7 yet, so those mixes are safe...for now

    • @SavingTheUndesireables
      @SavingTheUndesireables 6 місяців тому +8

      @@fallout560thank god

    • @ratdude747
      @ratdude747 6 місяців тому +15

      @@fallout560 As popular as they are, likely it'll be like Chi Chi's salsa... somebody will buy the recipe and IP and keep selling it as a retail product if it gets liquidated more than likely. (Man do I miss Chi Chi's from my childhood!)

  • @michealdionne5456
    @michealdionne5456 6 місяців тому +45

    As a former red lobster employee I enjoyed my time there. When Darden sold it to golden gate and thai union I left about a year later. I am very sad to see it close down.

    • @pistachiosandpopcorn7146
      @pistachiosandpopcorn7146 6 місяців тому +4

      Thank you for your service. Red lobster has been a fave of mine since pretty much birth. I haven’t been in like three years…but I still love it and at one time…talking for 20 years…I was going at least 15 times a year….and probably more like once every two weeks. So yeah…truly heartbreaking.

    • @GeminiWoods
      @GeminiWoods 6 місяців тому +4

      Worked there for 13 years. It was a great place to work as an employee, but being a manager was a nightmare.

    • @michealdionne5456
      @michealdionne5456 6 місяців тому

      @@pistachiosandpopcorn7146 Thank you. Cooking for people was fun. Always enjoyed hearing stories like yours.

    • @michealdionne5456
      @michealdionne5456 6 місяців тому

      @@GeminiWoods yeah basically why I left.

    • @swilkobarfingtoniii1642
      @swilkobarfingtoniii1642 6 місяців тому +2

      The Canadian Red Lobster restaurants were one of the very few that offered "employee benefits" like eyeglasses and some other stuff. It was always a desirable job for cooks and they had relatively low turnover in the kitchen compared to most "corporate kitchens."

  • @kentslocum
    @kentslocum 6 місяців тому +86

    Whenever a private equity firm is involved, hang onto your hats! 😢

    • @RF-vg5kv
      @RF-vg5kv 6 місяців тому +5

      Its most likely the kiss of death for that company

  • @mikeb8674
    @mikeb8674 6 місяців тому +4

    4:00 Ed O'Neill * *really* * loves his seafood.

    • @jamesgordon7608
      @jamesgordon7608 6 місяців тому +1

      Al Bundy at a seafood buffet. lol😂

  • @everythingsalright1121
    @everythingsalright1121 6 місяців тому +4

    That corporate bankruptcy announcement is so cold and out of touch its insane. "We know you love us just as much as we love you" (so not much, huh? lol)"Join us"? "Bankruptcy is misunderstood"? "Its okay other companies go bankrupt too!" Jesus, how creepy and patronizing

  • @Pwn3dbyth3n00b
    @Pwn3dbyth3n00b 6 місяців тому +316

    Honesty it feels odd to be an active participant in the bankruptcy of a company. I ate 4ish lbs of shrimp last year during their endless shrimp promotion. I went in coming for a deal and walked out putting them in the red like a bunch of other people did too.

    • @rickster100100
      @rickster100100 6 місяців тому +10

      and yet your heart didn’t explode with high cholesterol? Congratulations!!

    • @Nmdixon-cu7vm
      @Nmdixon-cu7vm 6 місяців тому

      @@rickster100100when your bipolar, dry comment muscles through to be extra sarcastic…but it’s just cringey af. That’s you right now.

    • @brandon8900
      @brandon8900 6 місяців тому

      .

    • @JohnClark-tt2bl
      @JohnClark-tt2bl 6 місяців тому +36

      That didn't do it. They got screwed, but it wasn't by their customers.

    • @dancooper6002
      @dancooper6002 6 місяців тому +75

      What has killed Red Lobster has been the same process that has been killing similar restaurants and retail establishments for a few decades at this point. Red Lobster, just like Sears, is a company built to cater to the middle class. Its product and price point are intended for the middle class consumer. That pool of consumers has been disappearing as the American middle class has shrunk and largely disappeared.
      This decline has been a long time coming, and has many facets. Acquisition and destruction by Private Equity is a common theme in these cases, but it is not the root cause, more of a proximate process by which these things happen. Nor is the news of the endless shrimp promotion killing the chain remotely accurate, an $11 Million dollar loss cannot kill a chain of that size unless it was already on its deathbed.
      Often in cases like this people will point to a decline in quality of food or service the last time they were there and conclude that is the reason for the chain's decline. Some will even make the flippant comment that the chain "deserved" to fail. This however misses the fact that decline of quality and service is a symptom, not a root cause. As the chain begins to struggle economically it becomes less and less able to offer quality service and food. It does eventually produce a feedback cycle, but the notion that one day the chain stopped serving quality for no reason is fanciful.
      The root cause of the decline of Red Lobster is the decline of the middle class, which was in turn the result of the decline of manufacturing which came about from bad trade, tax, economic, fiscal, environmental, foreign, and industrial policies.

  • @nolanjohnson2009
    @nolanjohnson2009 6 місяців тому +36

    Last time I ate at red lobster my mom complained about the soup being too salty, and they said sorry it's pre-made.

    • @almostontimehero5415
      @almostontimehero5415 6 місяців тому

      Premade food is full of chemicals. Real food isn't supposed to last days.

  • @swiggyshark
    @swiggyshark 6 місяців тому +489

    And I’m sure the execs are eating Ultimate Feasts on their $475 million shrimp boat 😢

    • @Whitephosphorenjoyer
      @Whitephosphorenjoyer 6 місяців тому +23

      “Shrimp boat” as in boat made of shrimp, boat shaped as a shrimp or a shrimp fishing boat?

    • @kos2919
      @kos2919 6 місяців тому +20

      Are you dissing Forrest Gump?

    • @somethinglikethat2176
      @somethinglikethat2176 6 місяців тому +8

      ​@@Whitephosphorenjoyer it's shrimp all the way down

    • @Three_Random_Words
      @Three_Random_Words 6 місяців тому +2

      Run, swiggy, run!!

    • @IceTTom
      @IceTTom 6 місяців тому +1

      450 million dollar shrimp boat??
      Stop 🤦🏻‍♂️

  • @yeahok115sure
    @yeahok115sure Місяць тому +4

    You're a talented documentary filmmaker! Seriously I run a multi million dollar company and it's shocking how these big investment firms don't understand what makes success. People and product... they seem to take away from both categories right away

  • @kylermann5334
    @kylermann5334 6 місяців тому +1

    Another great video Jake. Nice to see a lot of shots of the Burlington location which is actually the one I went to most recently.

  • @WindsEternal
    @WindsEternal 6 місяців тому +74

    That's Ed O'Neil at 4:02!

    • @iamsolodad
      @iamsolodad 6 місяців тому +20

      Must have been after he scored 4 touchdowns. 😂

    • @Nmdixon-cu7vm
      @Nmdixon-cu7vm 6 місяців тому +9

      @@iamsolodadfor Polk county high!

    • @saintrocketIX
      @saintrocketIX 6 місяців тому +6

      ​@@iamsolodad In one game!

    • @ZhovtoBlakytniy
      @ZhovtoBlakytniy 6 місяців тому +5

      He really liked that Red Lobster! Great acting 😊

    • @twenty47pimpin
      @twenty47pimpin 6 місяців тому +1

      No, that's Al Bundy 😂😂

  • @hundid5930
    @hundid5930 6 місяців тому +10

    Loved the video - quick note on the sale lease back: This was a tax dodge more then anything else. They created a vehicle called a REIT and put the real estate in there and sold that - while maintaining a some large stake if i recall. The reason this unlocks value is that REITs are not taxed on a corporate level - they are flow through entities. So, you move the profits from red lobster to this reit through the lease payments. This makes red lobster look less profitable -> less taxes. In turn the REIT is more profitable but would you look at that they don't have to pay taxes -> less overall taxes.

  • @Erik_The_Viking
    @Erik_The_Viking 6 місяців тому +21

    Al Bundy alert a @4:00! We were just talking about how many restaurant chains have gone under and Red Lobster came up. This is what happens when a company gets into the restaurant business and knows nothing about running one. Never a good sign.

    • @CheapCheerful
      @CheapCheerful 6 місяців тому +2

      Nope. They were just the 'sucker' that bought it, after private equity gutted it, and the original owner got out because there simply isn't enough middle class families left with money to spend on seafood. Red Lobster cannot operate without a middle class.

  • @lpjrzee635
    @lpjrzee635 6 місяців тому +180

    Red Lobster by us was shuttered 2 weeks ago. The last time we went was years ago and the meal wasn't great, too much salt in the food. Thanks Jake for the timely video🦞

    • @calebdouglas7622
      @calebdouglas7622 6 місяців тому +13

      The cheddar bay biscuits saved them😂

    • @TerryWhisk
      @TerryWhisk 6 місяців тому +8

      Yep pretty mediocre food considering the price

    • @Nmdixon-cu7vm
      @Nmdixon-cu7vm 6 місяців тому

      @@N_g_erthat’s like hitting the megamillions but for ghey.

    • @nicholaslepore2789
      @nicholaslepore2789 6 місяців тому

      @@N_g_erno offense but nobody cares. like at all.

    • @WellBattle6
      @WellBattle6 6 місяців тому +2

      Same complaint with my parents, too much salt.

  • @Frissegast
    @Frissegast 6 місяців тому +1

    Every time again, I'm impressed by the research and preparation you put in your films, Jake. How many are you to make these documentaries? Keep up the good work!

  • @skandarc2810
    @skandarc2810 6 місяців тому +1

    QUALITY documentary again Jake! Such an interesting episode with great research, narration, script and editing. Tbh, I have always hated Red Lobster lol. I was never impressed with their food. Besides their tasty cheddar biscuits, locally owned seafood restaurants where I grew up is what I preferred. But you made this video so entertaining that I couldn’t take my eyes off of the screen haha. Also, thank you for confirming @ 7:23 that Brennen Evangelista is a time traveler who worked at Red Lobster as a bartender in the early 2000’s lmao🤣 @bevo tell us all about it. I almost have to be positive that this was intentional when you made the video haha. Cheers. Love ya Jake. Keep up the great work.

  • @heatherharrison264
    @heatherharrison264 6 місяців тому +27

    I live in a coastal area with lots of good local seafood restaurants. It has been many years since I have been in a Red Lobster, and I don't remember being particularly impressed. With so many good local restaurants, it is hard to see how Red Lobster can compete. There are still a few scattered around. Out of curiosity, I looked it up and found that the one closest to me has closed, and the one I remember visiting years ago is long gone. I will be surprised if the few remaining locations in my area last much longer. This is a restaurant chain that has run its course. If I were an employee at one of the locations that is still open, I would be looking for another job and would get out of there as soon as possible.

    • @maxpowr90
      @maxpowr90 6 місяців тому +1

      Basically the reason why there are like 2 Red Lobsters in New England.

    • @contentsdiffer5958
      @contentsdiffer5958 6 місяців тому +5

      Red Lobster was always more about giving a coastal-ish experience to people that lived nowhere near the ocean.
      If you live by the ocean, yeah, you have entirely different expectations. It would be like getting your typical supermarket tomatoes after living in the Italian countryside.

    • @BoratWanksta
      @BoratWanksta 6 місяців тому

      ​@@maxpowr90Red Lobster already closed 96-98% of their New England restaurants, like back in the late 90s/early 2000s. I'm not surprised they didn't do well sales wise, in that region....

  • @taz4870
    @taz4870 6 місяців тому +9

    Thanks for making the video. It was nostalgic and sad. Almost my entire family worked at Red Lobster since the early 90s. I remember in the late 2000s people would wait 2 hours to eat there even on non-weekend nights. My location had many many many people cross 10, 20, and even 30 year anniversaries. Red Lobster used to give everyone (even part-time people) vacation pay up until 15 years ago or so. For servers they would normalize your tips and give you that pay. It's crazy to think now.
    I caught up with some friends who were working there the last year or so. Many of the people who made our location great left because they couldn't do it anymore or were let go for arbitrary reasons. Things got bad. Servers are expected to have up to 10 tables. For context, when I worked there each server would have standardly have 3 tables, and sometimes 4 if things were really busy and we didn't have enough servers on that night.
    I hope they can survive and come back to being a great restaurant.

  • @Giratina1999
    @Giratina1999 6 місяців тому +4

    Another quality vid Jake! Can ya look into doing an abandoned video on St Luke Hospital in Pasadena CA? I have some footage you’re welcome to use and some direct info on it!

    • @jgueroz71
      @jgueroz71 6 місяців тому +1

      Thank you

    • @BrightSunFilms
      @BrightSunFilms  6 місяців тому +2

      Thank you so much! I’ll definitely look into it

  • @archie34734
    @archie34734 6 місяців тому +5

    Being sold to a private equity firm is the kiss of death. I'm surprised Bain Capital didn't snatch this company up first.

  • @buttersstan97
    @buttersstan97 6 місяців тому

    my first thought when i read the news about red lobster closing was "i can't wait for jake to do an episode on it" and here you are! 😁

  • @TheSlothNerd64
    @TheSlothNerd64 6 місяців тому +10

    Their endless shrimp special has been a tradition for me and my mom. It's going to be really sad if Red Lobster fully goes under.

  • @whatidkdunno8950
    @whatidkdunno8950 6 місяців тому +14

    I knew this video was coming as soon as the bankruptcy was announced. Keep up the amazing work!

  • @DCBiscuit
    @DCBiscuit 6 місяців тому +19

    I remember being a kid and thinking that Red Lobster was fancy fancy. The kind of place you only went for a birthday or holiday where a parent was sick and didn't want to cook a full meal. Those Cheddar Bay Biscuits will always hold a place in my heart, but I'll be damned if I say that it's "good food."

  • @VaingloriousGaming
    @VaingloriousGaming 6 місяців тому +1

    Great video, and strong City Planner Plays vibe on the outro; thought I had somehow clicked over to one of his videos.

  • @NfidelNet
    @NfidelNet 6 місяців тому

    I grew up in Lakeland Florida in the 70s. That Lake Parker Red Lobster served me some of the tastiest meals in my life to this day. It was the most delicious seafood anywhere as far as my family thought. I got to eat there in the heyday and I've also seen the decline. Coincidentally, we lived in Myrtle Beach for a few years in the 2010s. The Myrtle Beach location was so bad that we tried it once and vowed not to return to that location. We can all hope that Red Lobster can claw (pun) it's way back. Great video as always.

  • @order6676
    @order6676 6 місяців тому +8

    Thank you for actually reporting on what happened with the company. I was very confused by the news of it. The red lobsters near me are doing ok. Clearly quality has dwindled but I just put that to everything now a days. Lowering quality and increasing prices.

  • @h0lly_blue
    @h0lly_blue 6 місяців тому +28

    I was thinking "wait haven't I seen a video like this already" but then I remembered that was the Ruby Tuesday one lol

    • @HunterTN
      @HunterTN 6 місяців тому +1

      They both kind of suffered from the same fate. Ruby Tuesday had a theme, stuff all over the walls and at least in the Knoxville area they would have memorabilia specific to the local high schools or locally known people. Red Lobster pretty much always looked like someone's idea of what a lobster house in New England looks like. They both eventually changed to completely sanitized dining areas, nothing to differentiate themselves from anyone else. They took away things that people liked and replaced them with things people were indifferent to. They badly misunderstood why their customers came to their restaurants, and tried to be something that no one really wanted.

    • @jamesbraun9842
      @jamesbraun9842 6 місяців тому +1

      The reason Ruby Tuesday was the original founder of the company was always involved. (After he retired and left, the company tanked and became any other family style restaurant.

  • @4r391
    @4r391 6 місяців тому +116

    When a Bigmac meal is $12-$20, good luck selling lobster...

    • @tylere.8436
      @tylere.8436 6 місяців тому +4

      Tis why I just order the Big Mac itself

    • @everythingsalright1121
      @everythingsalright1121 6 місяців тому

      @@tylere.8436 theres so many better things you could get for less DX

    • @tanikokishimoto1604
      @tanikokishimoto1604 6 місяців тому +14

      ​@@tylere.8436never order a big Mac. Buy ground meat and make your own burgers. Doesn't take all that long.

    • @tanikokishimoto1604
      @tanikokishimoto1604 6 місяців тому +8

      ​@@tylere.8436And, tastes a hellalot better.

    • @tylere.8436
      @tylere.8436 6 місяців тому +3

      @@tanikokishimoto1604 I would, but I'm remodeling my kitchen. so after it's done

  • @Housewarmin
    @Housewarmin 6 місяців тому +1

    16:57 - I am so glad you mentioned how good the salmon bowl is! It is the only thing on the menu worth visiting for!

  • @aliciarios6391
    @aliciarios6391 6 місяців тому +1

    Everytime I hear 'cat's walking' I assume it's a CityPlannerPlays video and I got really confused for the outro lol. Great song though. And great video as always!

  • @bigguy1960
    @bigguy1960 6 місяців тому +92

    If you're ever up to it, a bankruptcy video on General Motors would be welcomed! My great-grandfather, grandfather and dad all worked for GM, and when I was born in 1960 I was given shares of GM stock, which of course became worthless when GM went bankrupt.

    • @BrightSunFilms
      @BrightSunFilms  6 місяців тому +49

      Already did one! ua-cam.com/video/xHnPD3ttBlA/v-deo.htmlsi=RE2cVzFIkxxYgWLp

    • @tim3172
      @tim3172 6 місяців тому +28

      Uhhh... GM stock is worth 45 bucks a share. It's far from "worthless."
      It's all-time high was ~$63 in 2020 before Trump let the bottom fall out of the economy.
      But, it's still far in excess of its all-time average price.

    • @obsidian....
      @obsidian.... 6 місяців тому

      ​​@@tim3172lolol - I hope you're kidding and realize that GM went bankrupt in 09 and all their stock became worthless.
      .
      The current stock has nothing to do with all that was held in 08'

    • @brandon8900
      @brandon8900 6 місяців тому

      ​​@@tim3172it's not the same GM, so his shares were worthless.
      When General Motors (GM) went bankrupt in 2009, the restructuring process resulted in the creation of a new entity, often referred to as "New GM." Here's a summary of what happened:
      1. **Bankruptcy and Restructuring**: GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 1, 2009. During the restructuring, the company's viable assets were transferred to a new entity, also called General Motors Company, while the old entity (referred to as "Old GM") retained the non-viable assets and liabilities.
      2. **Shareholders**: Shareholders of the pre-bankruptcy GM (Old GM) did not retain their shares in the new GM. The stock of Old GM (GM) became essentially worthless. The new GM issued new stock, which started trading publicly in November 2010, after the company emerged from bankruptcy.
      3. **Government Ownership**: As part of the bailout and restructuring process, the U.S. Treasury and other governments received significant ownership stakes in the new GM in exchange for the financial support provided during the bankruptcy.
      4. **New GM IPO**: The new GM held an initial public offering (IPO) on November 17, 2010, allowing it to return to the stock market. The ticker symbol for the new GM stock is GM.
      In summary, shareholders of the old GM lost their investments, and new stock was issued for the restructured company, which began trading in 2010.

    • @brandon8900
      @brandon8900 6 місяців тому

      ​@@tim3172false, it was restructured with new shares and the old shares prior to bankruptcy became worthless.

  • @LadyRed_
    @LadyRed_ 6 місяців тому +6

    My local (30 minutes away) location has gradually been going down hill. From the food being off to the removal of the iconic lobster tank. There's better seafood locations, but the nostalgia of going for birthdays still makes this hurt

  • @vekst
    @vekst 6 місяців тому +26

    Never ate at a Red Lobster before, but hi and thanks for the video Jake!

  • @prospectorbonky
    @prospectorbonky 6 місяців тому +1

    Red Lobster was my second ever job back before I knew what a chef or fine dining was! Was a great, formative experience for me!

  • @Scantronimus466
    @Scantronimus466 6 місяців тому +9

    My friend went in to Red Lobster when they added the ‘endless shrimp’ to the menu permanently.
    I haven’t seen her since.
    I miss her.

    • @asystole_
      @asystole_ 5 місяців тому +1

      this is an SCP I think

  • @EvaristeWK
    @EvaristeWK 6 місяців тому +31

    I remember seeing so many ads for Red Lobster when I was watching TV as a kid, it was very nostalgic. Sad to see them go

  • @SaveEuropeDuke
    @SaveEuropeDuke 6 місяців тому +6

    Got my mother to watch your movie on Prime. Never watched you before, but she really enjoyed it.

  • @CJODell12
    @CJODell12 6 місяців тому +68

    I’ve never eaten at a Red Lobster. They don’t really exist here in New England, where great mom and pop seafood restaurants are plentiful.

    • @Wnick1996
      @Wnick1996 6 місяців тому +6

      True, plus they're much more fresher the what Red Lobster has

    • @Lord_Horker
      @Lord_Horker 6 місяців тому +3

      Any recommendations? Cause I was excited for that very thing when I visited and I had a lot of okay food and some of the worst food poisoning I’ve ever had haha

    • @nucleargrizzly1776
      @nucleargrizzly1776 6 місяців тому +6

      I grew up in New Orleans. Couldn't believe anyone went to Red lobster or Subway.

    • @phionella7
      @phionella7 6 місяців тому +2

      I live in New England I live in Connecticut there's many Red Lobsters in Connecticut, although I will admit I've never eaten at one.

    • @krab1791
      @krab1791 6 місяців тому +5

      Why go to Red Lobster in New England when you can go to any seafood resturant where they can get fresh caught fish?
      Growing up we would go spend our summers camping on the RI shore. My Dad would go get Lobsters fresh off the boat and every fish market had clams just dug up that morning. Compare that to over priced rubber lobster from Red Lobster.

  • @bobp5356
    @bobp5356 6 місяців тому +1

    Excellent video! Great information about the history of the company.

  • @JustJacob01
    @JustJacob01 6 місяців тому

    Back in I wanna say 2015 me and my family were going to go to the T-Rex Cafe in Downtown Disney (now Disney Springs) for my Birthday, but my Dad forgot to make reservations and couldn’t get a table when we showed up, so we went to Red Lobster instead, and since then it’s been a tradition to always go there every year for my Birthday. It’s sad to see it go, I hope I’ll be able to eat there one last time when my Birthday comes this year.
    Thank you, Red Lobster.
    I’ll never forget you and your delicious biscuits!