This Is How Red Lobster Is Planning A Major Comeback

When Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in 2024, many of us assumed the restaurant was gone for good. Like many restaurants that have struggled to stay open in recent years, Red Lobster faced numerous restaurant closures across the country, and things were looking bleak.

To everyone's surprise, though, Red Lobster announced the hiring of a new CEO, Damola Adamolekun, in late 2024. Adamolekun brought with him a plan for bringing the long-beloved seafood chain back to dominance. Since then, Red Lobster has been betting big on its new image — and it seems to be paying off. The chain is generating hype in the news and all across social media for its bold new approach to marketing and dining experience, letting customers know that it's coming back better than ever.

So, what can customers expect from the new and improved Red Lobster? Let's take a look at all the things that have changed, and everything that's staying the same. Here's everything we know about what Red Lobster has planned for its big comeback.

Part of new CEO Damola Adamolekun's plan for making Red Lobster popular again is what he calls "red carpet hospitality." In an interview on The Breakfast Club, he shared that the phrase comes from an acronym meaning recognize, engage, and delight.

With the all-new training program that has now been rolled out at all Red Lobster locations, employees are expected to smile and acknowledge any customer within ten feet of them, and verbally engage with any patron who comes within four feet of them. If a customer asks for directions to the bathroom, employees are now trained to walk them to the restroom rather than just pointing.

Adamolekun says that these small behavioral changes make a big impact on the level of hospitality customers receive, and what they're willing to pay to dine out. He's hoping that top-class customer service will help Red Lobster stand out against similar chain restaurants with rapidly declining customer satisfaction ratings.

Before Damola Adamolekun became CEO of Red Lobster, he helped bring P.F. Chang's back from the brink of extinction partly by leading a large-scale renovation of its restaurants across the country. He's betting on the same strategy for Red Lobster.

According to Bloomberg, the chain will renovate all 545 locations with new decor and design at an estimated cost of $500,000 per restaurant, starting with Atlanta. Adamolekun says the goal is to make the restaurants more inviting to customers, as well as appeal to the social media generation with Instagrammable backdrops.

You may have noticed that chain restaurants have all started to look the same, but Red Lobster is bucking the trend. Adamolekun says the goal of the chain's renovations will be to reflect individual communities, giving the restaurants a bit more of that local feel to push back against the growing distaste for large corporate chains. Though the renovations will take several years to complete, customers can see some more immediate vibe changes in restaurants right now with things like new tablecloths and music.

Red Lobster has already kicked off its transformation with new menu items, aiming to create a fresh and exciting dining experience. The new menu unveiled in November 2024 includes never-before-seen items like bacon-wrapped scallops and lobster pappardelle pasta.

The chain is also leaning into experiential dining with limited-time festival menus, like its summer Crabfest, when it introduced a line of seafood boil options. Customers can now enjoy a classic low-country boil with shrimp, sausage, corn, and potatoes — dubbed the Sailor's Boil — or an elevated version called the Mariner's Boil, which includes lobster and snow crab. "It's an experience," Adamolekun told Good Morning America. "The bag comes out, the waiter shakes it in front of the table, you open it up, the steam, the flavor all comes out."

Red Lobster hopes that adding an element of fun to the dining experience will draw in a younger crowd and differentiate it from more casual dining options. So far, the menu changes seem to be helping the chain shed its outdated image and become a destination for diners.

As tariffs and inflation threaten big price increases at some restaurants in 2025, Red Lobster is hoping to entice customers with menu options that are easy on the wallet. The restaurant announced all-new happy hour deals in late 2024. The happy hour includes a selection of drinks for $5, including select wines and draft beers, along with cocktails like the Long Island iced tea and classic margarita. Customers can also enjoy $2 off certain happy hour appetizers, including seafood-stuffed mushrooms, crab queso, and lobster dip. Other promotions include Daily Deals like $15.99 fish and chips on Fridays and $19.99 lobster and shrimp scampi on Mondays.

In addition to promotions, the chain has introduced a wider variety of always-on menu options to cater to any budget. New marketing highlights its many menu options under $20, while new offerings like lobster rolls offer a lower-cost way to get your lobster fix. These additions represent Red Lobster's attempt to make its restaurants accessible to more diners, without sacrificing its higher-end aesthetic.

In recent years, the popularity of chain restaurants has declined. Diners are increasingly choosing local or regional eateries over national chains, and there's a perception of these huge brands as being lower quality due to their mass production.

Red Lobster's new CEO Damola Adamolekun is setting out to correct the record. When it comes to Red Lobster, at least, a bigger operation actually equals higher-quality seafood. Adamolekun points out that the restaurant buys 25% of the lobster and crab caught in the U.S. That buying power gives them the ability to demand only the best, he says.

Along with stepping up the standards for service and dish preparation, Adamolekun plans to lean into the restaurant's legacy as the first national restaurant to provide fresh, high-quality seafood across the country. The company hopes this will restore its image as a place to get high-end food in a casual setting.

Over the years, Red Lobster has become less than cool. The restaurant chain is no longer a hip place to be, but it's hoping to change that by associating its brand with trending celebrities across the sports and music world.

In June of 2025, Red Lobster released a new menu drink in collaboration with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg: The Purple Haze, a gin lemonade drink featuring the rappers' STILL G.I.N. liquor. The brand has also leaned into sports marketing, tapping basketball star Blake Griffin for a series of tongue-in-cheek advertising videos across social media comparing his basketball dunking skills to dunking lobster in butter, like this TikTok:

@redlobster

@Blake Griffin said his piece. Now it's time to come dunk your face off at the Greatest Lobsterfest Of All Time 🫠 #RedLobster #lobster #greatest #goat #dunk #butter #apology

♬ Sentimental piano instrument – Yukari Okano

Red Lobster has also invested big bucks into sponsoring several sporting events and entities, including ESPN's Band of the Year, Ice Cube's Big3 basketball league, and the WNBA team Chicago Sky. It certainly seems like the restaurant chain is betting big on sports fans — here's hoping it pays off.

For years, Red Lobster had lost touch with its main customer base. Now it's determined to make up for lost time. The restaurant's new CEO is keeping his finger on the pulse of online conversations and feedback, hoping to measure the success of new strategies and understand what keeps customers coming back.

When Red Lobster launched its new seafood boil in early 2025, customers were disappointed to find that the restaurant only offered one mild flavor option — and they made it known. After receiving a slew of social media comments asking for spicy boil options, the Red Lobster team was quick to react.

Within just a week, the restaurant was able to roll out new flavor options to all locations: spicy, extra spicy, and Old Bay Parmesan. There was even a Cajun hot sausage option added to the menu. That's impressive response time for any restaurant, especially a legacy national chain with over 500 locations.

Red Lobster's reputation isn't the only thing that's getting dusted off. The restaurant's technology is reportedly getting an overhaul, partnering with hospitality tech brand Olo to update its systems and create a smoother customer experience.

With the support of this new tech partner, Red Lobster will be able to offer customers easier online ordering and checkout. Olo will also help the brand monitor the sentiment of online reviews from places like Yelp and Google, to more easily measure customer satisfaction across its various locations and course correct when diners are unsatisfied.

That's not all — Red Lobster reportedly plans to launch a brand-new catering offering using Olo's platform. Though the brand has offered third-party catering for years, this would be its first foray into in-house catering. It says customers can expect to see online catering ordering available by the end of 2025. We can't wait to see the news of the first Red Lobster-catered wedding.

Many of us have fond memories of Red Lobster as a place for family dinners and special occasions. The restaurant is hoping to lean into that nostalgia by bringing back some fan favorite dishes: hushpuppies and popcorn shrimp.

One beloved menu item that's here to stay are the famous cheddar bay biscuits. In a viral TikTok video, new CEO Damola Adamolekun reassures diners that the restaurant won't be messing with the biscuit recipe at all:

@redlobster

The future of Red Lobster just pulled up — and it's drippin' #ceo #seafoodlover #business

♬ original sound – Red Lobster – Red Lobster

Still, there's one famed special that we probably won't see back anytime soon: endless shrimp. Though customers frequently request it back, Adamolekun says it just doesn't make financial sense for the company. 

So far, the nostalgia marketing seems to be working, as Red Lobster is joining the ranks of seafood restaurants that are making a major comeback. We're so glad we don't have to say goodbye to this legendary chain just yet.