Red Lobster CEO wins backward dinners with a new menu, friendlier service | Company Business News

(Bloomberg) – The new CEO of Red Lobster said that customer feedback has improved significantly since the restaurant chain from bankruptcy with a refurbished menu and a renewed focus on hospitality. The chain monitors online reviews to determine how happy dinners are. Positive remarks are now much heavier than negative and the total ratings are very above the average operating average, said Damola Adamolekun, CEO, said in an interview. He partially credited the shift because of the company that workers have training workers to connect with clients more. “When a guest comes in, someone has to smile to greet them on the host,” Adamolecun said. “If a gas wants to use the bathroom, you guide them to the bathroom – you don’t point.” Founded in Florida in 1968, Red Lobster quickly expanded quickly in the 1970s and 1980s and developed a loyal next for his Cheddar rusks. It was once a prominent casual eating name, seen as a ‘smart’ destination to celebrate graduations and other life events. More recently, expensive labor costs and rental costs have helped with a money-enlightening unlimited shrimp promotion to push the careful business into bankruptcy in May 2024. It now wants to contact Diners again and attract a new generation of fans, even because a broader slowdown in restaurant traffic was particularly difficult. Adamolekun, who previously led a turnaround at PF Chang’s, was appointed to Red Lobster in the top post when it originated from bankruptcy in September. Sales and traffic have since improved, he said, without offering details. One of his first moves was to refresh the menu with new items such as lobster pappardelle paste and bacon-wrapped scallops. The 36-year-old man also brought fan of fans, including Hush Puppies and Popcorn Shrimp, while holding the stack cookies. Other moves involved the launch of TV advertising, the presence of the chain’s social media presence and a collaboration with sports teams such as Ice Cube’s 3-to-3-Basketball League. Adamolecun said he had no immediate plans to bring back unlimited shrimp, but he did not exclude it in the future, and noticed the offer that was profitable earlier. Meanwhile, Red Lobster has launched a starter and a $ 5 happy hour. It also has a three -course “shrimp sensation” promotion of $ 19.99 in certain places, which do make money, Adamolecun said. “We want a core value offer at all times,” he said in a TV interview in Bloomberg. ‘Continuous value is important to the gas, especially in a challenging macro -economic environment.’ The company has moved part of its shrimp offer from China to countries such as India to avoid steep rates imposed by the Trump administration. Red Lobster contains its lobster and scratches from the US or Canada, which is exempt from many charges under the USMCA Free Trade Agreement. A top priority for Adamolecun is to rebuild the 545 restaurants of the chain, so that they are ‘energetic, lively, inviting, warm’. He expects the refresher costs to amount to about $ 500,000 or more for each location, saying that the process could last four to five years. He intends to open the first refurbished location in the next six months, possibly in Atlanta. According to the CEO, restaurants that look better were repeated. “Young people especially care about the look and feeling of a restaurant,” he said. “They care most because they want to take photos, they want to be able to post on social media.” -With help from Scarlet Fu, Romaine Bostick, Michael Hirtzer and Isis Almeida. More stories like these are available on Bloomberg.com © 2025 Bloomberg LP