Restaurants & Fast Food

Red Lobster

Golden Gate Capital's sale-leaseback stripped Red Lobster of real estate assets, saddling it with unaffordable lease obligations. Filed Chapter 11 in 2024.

FOUNDED
1968
ACQUIRED
Golden Gate Capital, 2014, $2.1 billion
IMPACTS
1 documented

Editorial Record

maintained by DeathbyPE. Every claim links to a public source.

Timeline

1968

Red Lobster founded

2014

Acquired by Golden Gate Capital for $2.1 billion

2024

Red Lobster filed bankruptcy after Golden Gate Capital's sale-leaseback

HighClosure / Bankruptcy

Golden Gate Capital sold Red Lobster's real estate and forced it to lease back at above-market rates. Customer count dropped 30%. The $20 "Endless Shrimp" promotion lost $11M. Filed Chapter 11 in 2024, closing 130+ locations.

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How Private Equity Trashed Red Lobster

CNN Business

Before / After

Locations

reported 2024

before ~700 restaurants

after ~518 restaurants

-26%

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Tracked Locations

CA · 1

9217 Main St

Los Angeles, CA 90001 · 555-576-8647

FL · 2

6967 Main St

Orlando, FL 32801 · 555-690-3576

4227 Main St

Tampa, FL 33601 · 555-616-5771

NC · 1

9210 Main St

Charlotte, NC 28201 · 555-846-8007

NY · 1

6106 Main St

New York, NY 10001 · 555-332-3690

PA · 2

7795 Main St

Philadelphia, PA 19019 · 555-371-1130

7065 Main St

Pittsburgh, PA 15201 · 555-686-4964