Red Lobster Abruptly Shuts Roughly 100 Restaurants Nationwide

Red Lobster, the nation's biggest seafood restaurant chain, has abruptly closed about 100 locations and is auctioning off equipment from some of those sites as it reportedly weighs filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The Orlando, Florida-based company, with roughly 700 restaurants, identified on its website the locations that it said were "temporarily closed." At the same time, on Monday restaurant industry liquidator TAGeX Brands on LinkedIn said it was conducting "the largest restaurant equipment auction ever," for more than about 50 Red Lobster sites. The first wave of auctions ends Thursday.

"These auctions are winner takes all — meaning each winner will receive the entire contents of the Red Lobster location they bid on," TAGeX said.

Speculation about Red Lobster's future has been brewing for weeks, with Bloomberg News reporting in April that the chain was considering bankruptcy. Still, the mass restaurant shutdown took employees by surprise, according to local media reports.

Late Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said Red Lobster is expected to file for bankruptcy as early as next week to pare its debt.

On Tuesday morning, a patron of the Red Lobster in Ledgewood, New Jersey, drove into its parking lot and lamented that location's closing.

"We used to love coming here," he told CoStar News. "It's a shame."

Red Lobster has struggled with a variety of financial challenges, including the impact of the pandemic, high interest rates, and labor costs. And its all-you-can-eat "endless shrimp" promotion proved to be a money-losing disaster.

The chain had been trying to find a buyer in order to avoid filing for Chapter 11, according to published reports.

Red Lobster didn't respond to an email from CoStar News seeking comment Tuesday.

The company's biggest investor, Thai Union, in January said it wanted to sell its stake.

“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,” Thiraphong Chansiri, Thai Union CEO, said in a statement then.

Red Lobster's website lists these restaurants as closed:

• Auburn, 1805 Opelika Road
• Decatur, 2027 Beltline Road SW
• Huntsville, 1818 University Drive NW
• Mobile, 3941 Airport Blvd.

• Oro Valley, 11695 N. Oracle Road

• Fremont, 39401 Fremont Blvd.
• Montclair, 9345 Monte Vista
• Rohnert Park, 6440 Redwood Drive
• Sacramento, 1400 Howe Ave.
• San Diego, 8330 Mira Mesa Blvd.
• Torrance, 21233 Hawthorne Blvd.

• Denver, 8268 E. Northfield Blvd.
• Lakewood, 810 S. Wadsworth Blvd.
• Lone Tree, 9067 E. Westview Road
• Wheat Ridge, 4455 Wadsworth Blvd.

• Altamonte Springs, 340 W. SR 436
• Daytona Beach Shores, 3162 S. Atlantic Ave.
• Gainesville, 6910 W. Newberry Road
• Hialeah, 1750 W. 49th St.
• Jacksonville, 416 Commerce Center Drive
• Jacksonville, 8720 Baymeadows Road
• Jacksonville, 13090 City Station Drive
• Jensen Beach, 3544 NW Federal Highway
• Kissimmee, 4010 W. Vine St.
• Largo, 10500 E. Ulmerton Road
• Leesburg,10010 U.S. Highway 441
• Orlando, 3552 E. Colonial Drive
• Orlando, 7373 W. Colonial Drive
• Orlando, 8003 Golden Sky Lane
• Sanford, 20 Towne Center Circle
• Tampa, 2625 E. Busch Blvd.
• Tampa, 17021 Palm Pointe Drive

• Athens, 1956 W. Broad St.
• Dublin, 2105 Veterans Blvd.
• Roswell, 1050 Holcomb Bridge Road

• Lewiston, 2115 Thain Grade

• Bloomingdale, 391 W. Army Trail Road.
• Danville, 3217 Vermillion St.

• Elkhart, 3009 Brittany Court
• Indianapolis, 1752 N. Shadeland Ave.

• Waterloo, 941 E. San Marnan
• Council Bluffs, 3040 Dial Drive

• Kansas City, 10700 Parallel Parkway
• Olathe, 14904 W. 119th St.
• Salina, 2925 S. 9th St.

• Bossier City, 2968 E. Texas St.

• Columbia, 9011 Snowden Square Drive
• Gaithersburg, 15700 Shady Grove Road
• Laurel,14368 Baltimore Ave.
• Silver Spring, 8533 Georgia Ave.

• Fort Gratiot, 4220 24th Ave.

• Jackson, 6357 Interstate 55 N
• D'Iberville, 3897 Promenade Parkway
• Hattiesburg, 4670 Hardy St.

• Jefferson City, 3519 Country Club Drive

• Bridgewater, 1271 Route 22
• East Brunswick, 50 Highway 18 N
• Ledgewood, 303 Route 10
• Lawrenceville, 3255 Brunswick Pike.

• Amherst, 4010 Maple Road
• Buffalo, 3701 McKinley Parkway
• Kingston, 1 Miron Lane
• Lakewood, 295 E. Fairmount Ave.
• Nanuet, 198 State Route 59
• Rochester, 655 Jefferson Road
• Poughkeepsie, 2255 South Road
• Scarsdale, 999 Central Park Ave.
• Stony Brook, 2220 Nesconset Highway
• Watertown, 20831 State Route 3
• Williamsville, 7540 Transit Road

• Burlington, 1726 Glidewell Drive
• Cary, 1805 Walnut St.
• Durham, 4416 Chapel Hill Blvd.
• Rocky Mount, 1010 N. Wesleyan Blvd.
• Burlington, 1726 Glidewell Drive.

• Grand Forks, 2675 32nd Ave. S

• Lawton, 3112 NW Cache Road
• Oklahoma City, 4243 NW Expressway St.
• Stillwater, 102 E. Hall of Fame Ave.

• Erie, 2040 Edinboro Road

• Myrtle Beach, 10000 Highway 17 N

• Memphis, 7750 Winchester Road

• Dallas, 10290 E. Technology Blvd.
• Dallas, 9069 Vantage Point Drive
• Houston, 302 FM 1960 Road W
• Lake Jackson,104 Highway 332 W
• Longview, 3515 McCann Road
• Lufkin, 1919 S. First St.
• Pasadena, 4002 Spencer Highway
• San Antonio, 7835 Interstate 35 S.
• Tyler, 1500 WSW Loop 323
• Victoria, 7404 Zac Lentz Pkwy.

• Colonial Heights, 119 Temple Lake Drive
• Newport News, 12580 Jefferson Ave.
• Williamsburg, 2100 Richmond Road

• Silverdale, 3208 NW Randall Way

• La Crosse, 3333 State Road 16
• Wauwatosa, 2801 N. Mayfair Road