- Red Lobster is closing over 50 US locations, a restaurant liquidator confirmed.
- TAGeX Brands will auction off furniture and kitchen items from the closing locations.
- Bloomberg previously reported that the seafood restaurant chain is considering a bankruptcy filing.
Red Lobster, the seafood restaurant chain considering a bankruptcy filing, is shutting down over 50 locations across the US.
TAGeX Brands, a restaurant liquidator, confirmed to Business Insider on Monday that it would be auctioning off kitchen items and furniture from the locations that would be shut down. The auction began Monday and will end Thursday. Neal Sherman at TAGeX Brands told BI that four sales were completed on Monday.
"TAGeX Brands is conducting the largest restaurant equipment auction event ever, auctioning off the contents of 50+ former Red Lobster locations across the country that were closed as part of Red Lobster's footprint rationalization," the company wrote in a statement to BI.
Red Lobster has not made a public statement about the restaurant closures and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Per the Red Lobster website, locations TageX Brands lists as part of their liquidation auction appear to be closed for the rest of the week. Local outlets from Orlando to Buffalo reported that locations had been listed as "temporarily closed" on the website.
States that will see Red Lobster closures include California, Colorado, Florida, New York, and Texas. The company has over 700 locations, although it's unclear if the total was updated to reflect the restaurant closures.
Red Lobster has seen its share of financial struggles over the years.
The 56-year-old chain founded in Florida recently blamed $11 million in losses in the third quarter of 2023 on its all-you-can-eat shrimp promotion.
The restaurant also reported losing billions in sales in March 2020 during the start of Covid-19 lockdowns.
Bloomberg reported in April that the restaurant company was considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Retail experts who previously spoke to Business Insider said some of the company's troubles are due to the private equity firm Golden Gate Capital, which took over the struggling business in 2014.
Golden Gate Capital sold Red Lobster's real-estate holdings that same year to a separate company to help finance the deal and later leased those restaurants back, which has cost the brand.
In the past two years, the company has also faced unsteady leadership, with multiple Red Lobster executives leaving roles.