Red Lobster Continues Restaurant Closures Amid Bankruptcy Proceedings

Red Lobster, the Orlando-based seafood restaurant chain, is set to close an additional 23 locations across the United States. This decision follows a series of earlier closures and is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to restructure under bankruptcy protection.

The new wave of closures arrives just over three months after the company filed for bankruptcy. With these latest announcements, the total number of Red Lobster restaurants shuttered rises to at least 129 locations nationwide.

The closures include three restaurants in Florida, Illinois, and Virginia, as well as two in Minnesota and New York. Single locations will also close in states such as Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Carolina.

Documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida on August 22 reveal that Red Lobster is rejecting the leases for these 23 locations by August 31. The company’s bankruptcy filing earlier this year indicated dire circumstances, including substantial debt, frequent changes in leadership, and a significant drop in customer visits, which have decreased by 30% since 2019.

In June, prior to these closures, Red Lobster indicated in bankruptcy documents that it risked closing additional locations if operational conditions did not improve. The current closures reflect that concern, as they follow a previous announcement of 106 additional Red Lobster locations that had already ceased operations.