Red Slobster to close

[no1uno]

http://www.ballerstatus.com/2013/12/23/red-lobster-restaurants-close/

[Laelth]

1. Not so fast.

A later press release says that Red Lobsters are not closing. The company's just spinning them off as a separate company.

http://www.ballerstatus.com/2013/12/27/red-lobster-restaruants-closing-says-company/

-Laelth

[bananas]

11. Thanks - the NYT doesn't say it's going to be closed either. nt

[hlthe2b]

2. that is unfortunate...

I'm not a fan of chain restaurants in general, but I don't think it a good thing to lose the little variety we have.

[MADem]

3. Good that this a false assertion. It's not closing!

This is a popular date and family spot for people in a certain income range. It's often the only place where people can get a bite of fish easily.

It may not be the "best" in terms of quality, but I'd say it ranks above Crapplebee's, for sure, in terms of the menu.

And those nasty heart-attack fat pill warm buns they bring out are a once-every-few-years sinful indulgence!

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/false-alarm-red-lobster-closing/story?id=21351799

The Red Lobster restaurant chain today brushed aside reports that it will be closing its doors.

Rich Jeffers, a spokesman for Darden Restaurants Inc., which owns the chain, said the rumor may have started after the website LA Weekly published a story earlier this week that the company faced an "uncertain future." A torrent of tweets and other online media followed with reports that the chain was closing.

"We are not closing any restaurants," Jeffers told ABCNews.com on Friday.

The confusion may also be linked to Darden's announcement last week that it plans to sell or spin off the Red Lobster chain into a separate company.

There are 705 Red Lobster restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, Jeffers said.

[no1uno]

4. Nope another my bads....

for not researching and checking FACTS. And to think, I don't even watch Fox News! Rich Jeffers, spokesperson for Darden, states they are NOT closing and his statement..."You had a couple outlets where clearly folks weren't practicing good journalism, and no one called to verify if what they read in LA Weekly was accurate," Jeffers said.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-12-27/business/os-red-lobster-not-closing-20131227_1_darden-restaurants-red-lobster-cheddar-bay-biscuits

[BlueToTheBone]

5. Welcome to DU

One of the best things about this site is that you will be corrected when you're wrong. If you can stand the heat, you will become a truly knowledgeable person.

[lunasun]

6. Darden troubles - so sad not

In addition to Red Lobster's closure, Darden also plans to halt expansion at its core Olive Garden chain, and slowing down opening new locations for LongHorn Steakhouse.

Must be that Obamacare they complained so much about not the recession right?

sucko company and sucko food

[Galileo126]

7. re: sucko company and sucko food

I agree - bland and underwhelming food for the Darden chains.

At Red Slobster, they cover everything in so much butter, you can't taste the damned 'seafood'.

(I use quotes because who the frack knows where it came from, and how it was raised.)

At Olive Garden, the only thing I ever liked was the salad. The chicken parmesan wa soooo tough, I could have put it on my foot and worn it as a shoe.

Bad quality food trying to be sold at medium prices. "But...but... I can afford it!!"

Blahhhhhhhh......

[Warpy]

8. I think you'll see most mid level restaurants in trouble

What we'll have left are fast food joints and a few indie diners. The wealthy will keep the chichi restaurants in the cities and snob enclaves.

With the death of the middle class comes the death of the middle level chain restaurant, I'm afraid.

[Egalitarian Thug]

9. It will be back, what is dying is the corporate service-by-spreadsheet model.

Implementing stupid operation systems/policies and dragging the unproductive corporate millstone makes this type of restaurant difficult. Just look at Darden, that model only works in an environment of constant and rapid expansion because the first thing they do is start raising prices and cutting staff.

Rising prices and diminishing service and quality is not a viable model for any business.

[Warpy]

12. Yes, but that model is still set into stone at B-schools around the country

I don't know how chains manage to stay open in this town, there are so many family restaurants that are cheaper and offer superior cuisine instead of cheap suburban slop. Maybe most transplants need the taste of home (strike up the bland) even if it tastes like cardboard. It's predictable cardboard.

[Egalitarian Thug]

13. That has been and remains of life's great mysteries to me as well.

I lived on the road through the '90s, and saw it change before my eyes, though it was already well underway by then.

I used to accept my contracts based in large part on the local cuisine in the beginning of that career. By the time I was looking to get out, it wasn't even a consideration because everyplace was essentially the same assortment of not-quite-food.

[bananas]

10. Is it going to close or split off?

The NYT says it's going to be "split off", which means it could stay open.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/12/19/darden-to-spin-off-of-red-lobster-amid-shareholder-pressure/?_r=4

Red Lobster to Be Split From Darden’s Empire

<snip>

Separating the low-growth brand would let its new management team focus on running the company for its significant cash flows, while letting the rest of the company focus on its other brands’ needs, including different marketing and pricing strategies.

<snip>

“While today’s announcement is a first step toward improving focus and operating execution at Red Lobster and Olive Garden, we view the plan Darden announced today as incomplete and inadequate,” James Mitarotonda, the hedge fund’s chief executive, said in a statement on Thursday.

<snip>

[Fuddnik]

14. I live on the Gulf of Mexico.

I'll be damned if I'm going to eat anything at Fred Slobster. And you can get a better steak at Dunkin Donuts than at Longhorn.