Crimson Lobster has had a fishy few months. In Might, the seafood chain filed for chapter after greater than 50 places closed amid huge losses from its mayhem-making Limitless Shrimp promotion.
However in August, Crimson Lobster reeled in a brand new CEO: Damola Adamolekun, the 35-year-old former P.F. Chang’s chief govt. Adamolekun is on a mission to revive the embroiled 56-year-old restaurant chain after it was rocked by crustacean chaos prior to now couple of years.
“This is, without exaggeration, one of the most important companies in American history,” Adamolekun instructed CNN. “There were certainly big mistakes made over the last few years.”
One of many main missteps Adamolekun is referring to was Crimson Lobster’s countless shrimp promotion. It was wildly common with friends, however it was completely too pricey for the restaurant chain—which suffered tens of millions in working losses—and put undue stress on servers and kitchen employees, Adamolekun stated.
Shrimp is a “very expensive product to give away endlessly,” he stated within the CNN interview. “When you have endless shrimp, and people are coming in and sitting down at the table and eating for hours as much shrimp as they possibly can, you stress out the kitchen. You stress out the servers. You stress out the host. People can’t get a table. It creates a lot of chaos.”
The “Ultimate Endless Shrimp” deal launched in June 2023, and diners might select from two varieties of limitless shrimp dishes for $20. The deal, which halted in late 2023, additionally included the chain’s well-known Cheddar Bay Biscuits. It had beforehand been a limited-time deal, however the restaurant’s try and make it a standing menu choice in the end factored into the corporate’s downfall. It resulted in an $11 million loss, and its restructuring group blamed it as a direct contributor to its Might chapter submitting.
“We wanted to boost our traffic, and it didn’t work,” Thai Union Group chief monetary officer Ludovic Regis Henri Garnier instructed traders. “We need to be much more careful regarding what are the entry points and what is the price point we are offering for this promotion.” Thai Union Group is Crimson Lobster’s Thailand-based investor and it expects to completely divest by the top of the 12 months.
Thiraphong Chansiri, Thai Union Group’s CEO, nevertheless, pointed to different elements beleaguering the seafood chain.
“The combination of COVID-19 pandemic, sustained industry headwinds, higher interest rates and rising material and labor costs have impacted Red Lobster, resulting in prolonged negative financial contributions to Thai Union and its shareholders,” Chansiri stated in an announcement in January.
The CEO’s imaginative and prescient for Crimson Lobster
Whereas dozens of Crimson Lobster places closed in 2023, Adamolekun instructed CNN his plan is to develop the corporate—however not essentially by opening or reopening places.
“We intend to be done closing restaurants,” he instructed CNN. “We intend to grow from here in terms of the business. There’s going to be investments in the product that will take time. Infrastructure investment takes time. Technology investment takes time.”
There are at the moment 545 Crimson Lobster places, and Adamolekun stated the corporate intends to enhance every of them by fixing damaged HVAC programs, torn carpets, and chairs.
“It will take time, but the impact should be felt right away,” he stated. Adamolekun additionally stated the corporate plans to slim down its menu in a “very intelligent way” as a result of the choices had been too plentiful.
Adamolekun bought a head begin on his imaginative and prescient for the restaurant by secretly visiting eating places across the nation earlier than taking the corporate’s prime job and snacking on crab legs and lobster tail. He did this as a way to attach with and perceive the model—and its clients.
Prospects “just want quality food in a comfortable setting and to connect with the history of the brand,” he instructed WSJ. “That’s the first step.”
