Like many of you, I was sad to hear that the Red Lobster chain is in trouble and is closing locations. So far, they're not closing the one closest to me — which is not close enough for me to visit as often as I might — or the one in the Valley where Harlan Ellison and I used to have dinner. It wasn't that close to his home either but it was worth driving the distance.
I just don't like that so many restaurants that serve simple, basic seafood seem to be closing. The McCormick & Schmick's chain, which used to be all over Southern California, is down to one eatery. Fortunately, it's in Anaheim a few blocks from WonderCon so I can eat there every few years. The one in the San Diego Omni across from Comic-Con closed along with all the others. The Enterprise Fish Company in Santa Monica went outta business. The Blue Plate Oysterette near my house closed. There are a few others.
Yes, there are still places where one can get seafood but they all seem to trick and fancy the fish up. You can't get a plain piece of halibut or tilapia at most of 'em. It comes only in an avocado and jalapeno ceviche with Cajun spices or something. I just want a piece of fish grilled or fried without undue decoration.
What went wrong for Red Lobster? Most of the news reports say that their "Endless Shrimp" offering, which was apparently a loss-leader, led them into too much loss. That explanation sounds — you'll excuse the expression — fishy to me. You don't start closing otherwise viable businesses just because you mispriced one popular menu item. You correct the pricing and keep the doors open. Today, someone posted this on Instagram or X or somewhere…
A hedge fund bought the company, sold off all the land Red Lobster restaurants are located on, leased the land back to Red Lobster, and jacked the rent. Just so you know what is really going on here.
I don't know the gent who posted this or how much he knows about the situation but doesn't it sound like something like that was the cause?