Red Lobster’s new CEO said he had always had questions about the endless shrimp trade, which reportedly cost the company $11 million in its first quarter.
In a new interview with CNN, CEO Damola Adamolekun reflects on his first impressions when the restaurant chain made the decision to permanently add the $20 Infinite Shrimp Deal to its menu last year. Ta. His first thought was, “It’s a very expensive product to distribute endlessly.”
Last year, the company made all-you-can-eat shrimp a permanent menu item after 20 years of offering it for a limited time. Mr Adamolekun said the proposal caused confusion not only at the corporate level but also at the restaurants themselves as customers enjoyed unlimited shrimp.
“It’s stressful on the kitchen, it’s stressful on the servers, it’s stressful on the hosts. People can’t get a table,” Adamolekun told CNN. “It causes a lot of operational disruption.”
However, he did not rule out the possibility of the contract being revived in a new form.
“I don’t want to say never, but never in that way,” Adamolekun said. “We’re not going to lose money that way and do it in an uncontrolled way.”
Who is Damola Adamolekun?
Damola Adamolekun, 35, became Red Lobster’s new CEO in August.
The Nigerian native joins the firm following corporate experience as CEO and chief strategy officer at PF Chang and partner at New York investment firm Paulson & Co.
He told CNN that he tried Red Lobster for the first time at the Springfield store with his family on a Sunday after church. He said he wants to restore the greatness of what he called “America’s first large-scale successful casual dining chain.”
Founded by Bill Darden, Red Lobster opened its first store in 1968 in Lakeland, Florida.
Contributor: Max Hauptman
This story has been updated to resolve a typo.