Red Lobster plans to close nearly two dozen more restaurants in coming days as the bankrupt seafood chain prepares to be acquired.
Known for its affordable seafood and cheddar bay biscuits, the nationwide restaurant chain expects to walk away from the leases of 23 additional locations by August 31, a recent court filing showed. The closures will add to a tally that has seen more than 100 Red Lobster outlets shut down earlier this summer.
Red Lobster filed for Chapter 11 in May after years of weak growth amid mounting competition from fast-casual chains, heavy debt and mismanagement.
After the latest streamlining, Red Lobster will have roughly 500 restaurants. The company is selling itself to Fortress Investment Group, which recently loaned Red Lobster $100 million to keep the chain going. Fortress also owns Krystal, Logan's Roadhouse and J. Alexander's.
Fortress on Monday said it has appointed Damola Adamolekun, the former chief executive officer of P.F. Chang's, to run Red Lobster. A Florida bankruptcy judge must approve Red Lobster's plan for exiting Chapter 11.
Launched in 1968 in Lakeland, Florida, by local restaurateur Bill Darden, Red Lobster eventually expanded nationwide by offering Americans affordable crab, lobster and other seafood.
Here's a list of the additional locations Red Lobster intends to shut by August 31:
Arizona
- 1521 S. Yuma Palms Parkway, Yuma
- 8407 W. Markham Street, Little Rock
California
- 8703 Murray Drive, La Mesa
Colorado
- 4925 N. Academy Boulevard, Colorado Springs
Florida
- 326 Miracle Strip Parkway SW, Fort Walton Beach
- 5110 N. 9th Avenue, Pensacola
- 8909 U.S. Highway 19, Fort Richey
Georgia
- 6550 Tara Boulevard, Jonesboro
Illinois
- 1604 N. State Road 50, Bourbonnais
- 902 Commons Drive, Geneva
- 4625 N. Sterling Avenue, Peoria
Indiana
- 4353 Franklin Street, Michigan City
Minnesota
- 8900 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley
- 12515 Elm Creek Boulevard North, Maple Grove
Missouri
- 2381 Maplewood Commons Drive, Maplewood
New York
- 925 Hunts Point Avenue, Bronx
- 750 Upper Glen Street, Queensbury
North Carolina
- 304 A Western Boulevard, Jacksonville
Ohio
- 17227 Southpark Center, Strongsville
South Carolina
- 1270 Knox Abbott Drive, Cayce
Virginia
- 555 S. Van Dorn Street, Alexandria
- 4415 S. Laburnum Avenue, Richmond
- 709 Independence Boulevard, Virginia Beach
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