More Florida Red Lobster Restaurants Set To Close
Say it ain’t so! It looks like more Red Lobster restaurants are set to close in the state of Florida because of their financial issues. Red Lobster recently filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a huge decline in sales over the years. Red Lobster was a beloved place growing up and it’s sad to see what’s happened to the chain over the years. There are going to be three restaurants closing in the state of Florida. The seafood chain is also rejecting the leases of 23 more locations as part of its ongoing bankruptcy process.
Which Florida Red Lobster Stores Are Closing?
In a new report by RestaurantBusinessOnline, they explain that Red Lobster is set to close more restaurants not just in Florida but across the country. In bankruptcy filings the company said it rejected leases for 23 struggling locations that it plans to vacate by Aug. 31. They are closing the underperforming stores in hopes that it will help the company in the long run. According to WFLA, “The closures followed over 90 shutdowns in May, bringing a decline of more than 20% to the popular seafood restaurant chain locations since the end of 2023. Orlando, Florida-based Red Lobster said in court filings that its annual guest counts were down 30% from 2019.” As of 2023 the chain has lost $76 million which would be hard to recover from such a large amount.
The seafood restaurant chain will be sold to Fortress Investment Group out of bankruptcy. They are hoping to somehow save the company and somehow rebrand. A hearing for the sale is set for Sept. 5 so we have to wait for that date to see what happens next. The three Florida properties that will be closing includes: Pensacola, Port Richey and Fort Walton Beach but we expect more in the future.
