Red Lobster is trying to make a comeback and has rolled out a new menu with several new items.
One thing that is missing though is the $20 endless shrimp deal that led to the company’s downfall.
Red Lobster’s CEO Damola Adamolekun unveiled the new menu on the “Today” show this week.
The menu revamp came months after the company had to file for bankruptcy protection and closed about 100 locations nationwide.
Adamolekun said the menu is 20% smaller than before, it has new and returning items like bacon-wrapped sea scallops, lobster bisque and pasta dishes. The company’s famous hush puppies are also making a comeback, after a social media uproar when they were first removed.
The CEO didn’t pull punches though about the unlimited shrimp specials that hurt the company’s bottom line, telling the “Today” show that it is gone, “because I know how to do math.” But he didn’t say it would never return.
The promotion, which had been a limited-time offer, but was made permanent by former CEO Paul Kenny, cost Red Lobster $11 million, USA Today reported.
Adamolekun said he “always felt dubious” about the endless shrimp deal, telling CNN that shrimp was a “very expensive product to give away endlessly.”
It also had a ripple effect the told CNN.
“You stress out the kitchen. You stress out the servers. You stress out the host. People can’t get a table,” Adamolekun explained in October.
If it would come back eventually, Adamolekun said it would be done differently.
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