New York
CNN
,
More than two dozen Red Lobster stores are set to close in the coming days as part of the seafood restaurant chain's ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.
Recent court filings show the company is rejecting leases on 23 additional locations by Saturday, Aug. 31, which will join the more than 100 restaurants Red Lobster closed earlier this summer. Once complete, the chain will be left with about 500 outlets — down significantly from 650 last year.
Red Lobster is in the process of selling itself to Fortress Credit Corp., a lender experienced in restaurant management that also owns Krystal, Logan's Roadhouse and J. Alexander's. The firm recently lent the seafood chain $100 million to help it continue its business.
On Monday, Fortress announced it would appoint former PF Chang's chief executive Damola Ademolakun as Red Lobster's new CEO once the chain exits bankruptcy proceedings. Ademolakun will leave the Chinese food restaurant chain in August 2023 after a four-year tenure.
Mismanagement, competition, inflation and other factors dragged down Red Lobster, which has been a leader in the restaurant industry. Global seafood supplier Thai Union became Red Lobster's major shareholder in 2020 and filed for bankruptcy in May four years later.
Red Lobster's culture became toxic under Thai Union's leadership, former leaders told CNN. Red Lobster cut costs, dropped old suppliers and implemented strategies that backfired, such as making the $20 Endless Shrimp a permanent menu item. The chain lost $11 million on the Endless Shrimp deal.
The filing said the new list of leases for the restaurants it is closing is “likely to continue to incur losses” and is “no longer needed by the company to operate its business in the foreseeable future and may be rejected.”
Here are the locations Red Lobster plans to close:
Arizona
-1521 S. Yuma Palms Parkway, Yuma
Arkansas
-8407 W. Markham St., Little Rock
California
-8703 Murray Drive, La Mesa
Colorado
-4925 N. Academy Boulevard, Colorado Springs
Florida
-326 Miracle Strip Parkway, Fort Walton Beach
-5110 N. 9th Ave., Pensacola
-8909 US Highway 19, Port Richey
Georgia
-6550 Tara Boulevard, Jonesboro
Illinois
,1604 N. State Road 50, Bourbonnais
-902 Commons Drive, Geneva
-4625 N. Sterling Ave., Peoria
Indiana
-4353 Franklin St., 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 St., Queensbury
North Carolina
-304A Western Boulevard, Jacksonville
ohio
-17227 SouthPark Center, Strongsville
South Carolina
-1270 Knox Abbott Drive, Casey
Virginia
-555 S. Van Dorn St., Alexandria
-4415 S. Laburnum Ave., Richmond
-709 Independence Boulevard, Virginia Beach