Yahoo Finance Red Lobster has closed restaurants in the Triangle. Here are the affected NC locations
Red Lobster recently shut down dozens of locations across the country, with a few in the Triangle listed as “temporarily closed.”
Restaurant liquidator TAGeX Brands is auctioning off equipment from seafood restaurants in 21 states this week. The auctions will end May 16, and winners will get all of the contents of the Red Lobster location they bid on.
As of publication, there are no auctions for Red Lobster locations in North Carolina. However, Red Lobster’s website shows that select restaurants in the Triangle have been “temporarily closed.” There is no information about when or if those locations will reopen
Which locations have been shut down?
Two Triangle Red Lobster restaurants are listed as “temporarily closed” on Red Lobster’s website:
On Chapel Hill Boulevard in Durham
On Walnut Street in Cary
Just outside the Triangle, the location on North Wesleyan Boulevard in Rocky Mount is also “temporarily closed,” and so is the Red Lobster in Burlington.
Which ones are still open?
The Red Lobster on Old Wake Forest Road in Raleigh is still open, as are the rest of the 15 restaurants the seafood chain has in North Carolina.
Why are the closures happening?
Red Lobster was considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April, Bloomberg reported, to eliminate some long-term contracts and renegotiate leases.
Stable ownership has been difficult for the 56-year-old chain, according to the AP. As early as this year, Thai Union Group – one of the largest seafood suppliers in the world and a Red Lobster co-owner – announced plans to divest.
Red Lobster’s limited-time “Ultimate Endless Shrimp” deal also played a role in the company’s financial problems. Customers came out in droves for the offer, in which they selected two types of shrimp, eating as much of it as they wanted, all for $20. The all-you-can-eat deal turned out to be unaffordable for Red Lobster, resulting in an $11 million loss for the company in the third quarter of 2023, USA Today reported.
What other chains have closed Triangle locations recently?
▪ Sam Ash music store, which has been in business for 100 years, announced in May that it was closing all stores.
▪ Clothing retailer Rue21 is also closing all stores. There are 31 locations in North Carolina, with one at Triangle Town Center in Raleigh and another in Garner.
▪ Carlie C’s IGA, a locally owned grocer with 30 locations across the Carolinas, closed its Garner store.
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