Yahoo Finance D’Iberville Red Lobster closed. Are Cheddar Bay biscuits gone forever on the MS Coast?
Endless shrimp and Lobster Fests may be gone for good in D’Iberville as Red Lobster closed its doors Monday morning.
The closing was part of a nationwide shutdown of several locations of the iconic restaurant by Thai Union, which was rumored to be considering filing bankruptcy.
A sign was posted at the D’Iberville location, saying “This location is closed. We look forward to serving you at another Red Lobster location in the future.”
Like D’Iberville, Red Lobsters in Hattiesburg, Mobile and Jackson were listed as “temporarily closed” online. The Mobile location said it was scheduled to reopen May 21.
Locations in Erie, Pennsylvania, Buffalo, New York; and throughout Florida were closed Monday, with no signs of reopening.
According to a post in the local Facebook group MS Gulf Coast Foodies, the D’Iberville closing may not be temporary. “They’re closed for good,” said Annabelle Shar’da. “I was a server and they called this morning saying we closed.”
Red Lobsters in Meridian, Tupelo and Southaven were still listed as open.
The Orlando-based chain did not respond to the Sun Herald’s inquiries as to the status of its 670 locations and the accuracy of the closures being temporary.
A failed promotion last summer may have put the final nail in the restaurant’s coffin.
Frozen and chilled seafood business Thai Union bought controlling interest in the seafood chain in 2020. The Bangkok company saw the restaurant bounce back from a dismal 2020 after COVID and even reported a robust first quarter in 2023. More than 40% of the company’s profits came from their North American business interests like Red Lobster, according to industry insiders at Fish Focus.
The company introduced Red Lobster’s first-ever frozen seafood line in grocery stores nationwide and even delivered vegan tuna to the Netherlands.
To continue their momentum and drive in more foot traffic, Thai Union started an Endless Shrimp promotion in June 2023. What once was only a Monday special of all-you-can-eat shrimp, became available every day and at every location.
The promotion drove in the traffic investors wanted to see, but more people did not translate into bigger profits.
“More customers cashed in on $20 bottomless shrimp than Red Lobster was expecting,” said Joe Guszkowski of Restaurant Business. “Traffic rose 4% in the third quarter as a result, but it came at a loss of more than $11 million.”
Thai Union’s plan to turn the company around quickly turned into a projected loss of $20 million.
Red Lobster started shutdowns in 2020, closing four restaurants. The following year, five restaurants closed their doors. Thai Union started January 2023 eight restaurants lighter.
