On Monday, Red Lobster's new CEO Damola Adamolekun, 35, said tODAY that chain is mega-popular $20 Endless Shrimp Deal is over forever. It also almost put an end to the restaurant.
After offering unlimited shrimp as a limited-time deal, usually once a year for decades, Red Lobster made the promotion a regular menu item — and promptly regretted it. The deal proved very popular and cost the parent company nearly $11 million loss of profit in Q3 2023.
“We knew the price was cheap. But the idea was to bring more traffic to the restaurants,” said the CFO of Thai Union, then the main shareholder, in a November 2023. call earnings.
Related: Red Lobster Reverses Its 'Infinite Lobster' Promotion After Losing $11M In A Quarter
Adamolekun became the CEO of Red lobster in August and was previously CEO of PF Chang's. When TODAY asked him if The Last Grasshopper would ever return, he said probably not, “because I know how to do math.”
However, he disclosed some new menu items including bacon-wrapped sea scallops, lobster pappardelle pasta, grilled Mahi and the return of hush puppies – of which he seems to be a personal fan.
“I expect a commotion in our restaurants because we're bringing back the hush puppies,” Adamolekun said. “I stopped going to Red Lobster because they stopped hush puppies. I've loved hush puppies since I was in college. I'm glad they're back.”
35-year-old Red Lobster CEO Damola Adamolekun has $60 million to do what he calls a brand refresh for Red Lobster
This is a story to behold pic.twitter.com/1keRjSX7WT
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