Red Lobster is known for catering to its customers with a host of exciting special promotions,
including Crabfest, Lobsterfest and Endless Shrimp. But there's so much that most people
don't know about Red Lobster! While the company takes pride in offering fresh seafood, Red
Lobster VIPs are a bit tight-lipped about where their "red lobsters" come from. Apparently,
the lobsters come from all over the globe. So if succulent seafood is one of your favorites,
then you'll enjoy discovering the top 10 untold truths of Red Lobster.
Red Lobster's Been Around Since the Sixties
The very first Red Lobster opened for business
in 1968. It was located in Lakeland, Florida. By offering Florida residents and tourists
a new type of dining experience, Darden Restaurants Incorporated filled a need in the marketplace.
At that point in time, most people in Lakeland were choosing between fine dining and fast
food. There were not a lot of good choices in between. Red Lobster filled the middle
slot, by offering a family dining experience that wasn't too expensive or too cheap. Red
Lobster's founder gave people the opportunity to enjoy snow crab, lobster, calamari and
tilapia. Plenty of customers were trying these types of seafood for the very first time.
Soon, Red Lobsters were popping up all over the USA. On the 18th of January of this year,
Red Lobster celebrated its 50th anniversary. A restaurant chain that stays in business
for five decades is doing something right. The restaurant chain is best-known for serving
the needs of American clientele, but it's now an international chain and it continues
to expand into new parts of the world. While certain menu items are a bit costly due to
their market value, which fluctuates, the menu at Red Lobster offers a good mixture
of affordable appetizers and entrees, plus more expensive options. You won't need to
shell out big bucks for surf and turf unless you want to.
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The Cheddar Bay Biscuits at Red Lobster Are Hugely Popular
Each year, three hundred and ninety-five million Cheddar Bay Biscuits are served to hungry
Red Lobster customers. These addictive biscuits are extremely popular. Initially, Red Lobster's
founder started making hush puppies and then experimented with French bread. Bill Darden
felt there was room for another recipe on the menu, so he thought about adding biscuits
to his roster of seafood and sides. He liked the biscuit concept because biscuits are typical
"comfort food". So, he started playing around in the kitchen. His goal was to create a biscuit
that would go well with Red Lobster's seafood appetizers and entrees. He wanted to make
a biscuit that would explode with savory flavor. To create the ultimate flavor profile, he
subbed garlic for sugar and then added some cheese. The first Cheddar Bay Biscuits were
served in some Georgia Red Lobster restaurants. Guests loved them, so the Cheddar Bay Biscuit
roll-out went national. The biscuits were one enticing element of a new menu, which
gave guests access to more delicious freebies with each meal. Servers would walk from table
to table and give customers biscuits off of trays that they carried. Eventually, demand
for the tasty biscuits got out of hand and they were placed on tables, rather than being
served to guests by tray-toting, roving waiters. The name of the biscuits was designed to suit
the overall theme of the restaurant, but there's no real "Cheddar Bay".
Some Red Lobster Restaurants Have Served "Lobster Substitute”
Now, it's time to learn about the shadier side of this beloved American restaurant chain.
According to the Business Insider website, Red Lobster and other big eateries often substitute
other forms of seafood for lobster, without letting their customers know. A report showed
that 35 percent of samples from Red Lobster, which were gathered by Inside Edition during
a study, were made from less expensive forms of seafood, such as langostino and whiting.
A sample of the eatery's Lobster Bisque revealed that it contained zero lobster. The bisque
did contain langostino. The Inside Edition study was based on DNA tests performed on
food items. Lobster is really costly and this is surely why restaurants, including Red Lobster,
have cut corners by secretly substituting other types of seafood for the real thing.
Although langostino has the nickname, "little lobster", it's not a true lobster, and Red
Lobster had to change its menus after the report went public in 2016. Red Lobster
customers are now informed that their Lobster Bisque contains a mixture of langostino and
Maine Lobster.
Beyoncé Boosted Red Lobster Sales
Beyoncé's song, "Formation", includes a racy lyric about taking her man to Red Lobster
after he meets her sensual needs. When this song dropped, visits to Red Lobster went up
by thirty-three percent. People were clearly listening to "Formation" and then decided
to head out to the restaurant. They wanted to go there because Beyoncé goes to Red Lobster!
This sales spike shows just how influential "Bey" really is. Her star power is epic. Beyoncé
had some help writing "Formation", but she added the Red Lobster lyric herself. Is her
hubby, Jay-Z, a Cheddar Bay Biscuit fan? Is he a Rock Lobster Tail guy or an "Admiral's
Feast" man? Red Lobster execs must have been thrilled when "Formation" came out and Beyoncé's
fans started flooding into Red Lobster restaurants. They would have had to pay a fortune for marketing
that garnered the same result. Does Red Lobster owe Beyoncé a few free meals? Her personal
net worth is three hundred and fifty-five million dollars, so she probably doesn't need
or want a comped gift card from the restaurant. Here's another fun fact - Nicki Minaj used
to work at Red Lobster. She was a waitress and she got canned because a customer took
the pen that she was using. She went out into the parking lot and gave the customer and
the customer's companion the finger.
There Are Over 700 Locations
Right now, there are more than seven hundred Red Lobster restaurants. The official Red
Lobster website will help you to find one wherever you are. Just enter your postal code
or ZIP code and you'll find out where the closest restaurant is. Red Lobster HQ is in
Orlando. The company started in Florida and it's still run from Florida. At this point
in time, it's possible to enjoy Red Lobster's distinctive cuisine all over North America.
You'll also find it in Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Quatar.
While the company is still based in Florida, its parent company has changed. The new parent
company is called Golden Gate Capital. Golden Gate Capital bought Red Lobster from Darden
Restaurants during late July of 2014. Stats for 2018 show that Red Lobster's "Year over
year" sales change is minus 3.2 percent. This means that sales are down a bit. Red Lobster
is still successful but has to deal with strong competition from tough competitors, including
Chipotle, Panera and Cheesecake Factory. New and popular eateries are grabbing some of
Red Lobster's market share. The sales slump and the strong competition may be one reason
why Darden Restaurants decided to sell Red Lobster in 2014.
There's a Secret Menu at Red Lobster
To get the inside scoop on secret menu items at Red Lobster, we visited the Secretmenus.com
website. While we were there, we were pleased to discover that Red Lobster offers some amazing
secret menu options to in-the-know customers. Examples include an Onion Strings Appetizer.
Onion Strings aren't anything new. They are added as toppings on a variety of dishes at
Red Lobster and get great reviews from customers. However, they are usually toppings, rather
then appetizers. If you want your Onion Strings on their own, rather than placed on top of
an entree, be sure to ask your server for the Onion Strings Appetizer. You may want
to request some BBQ sauce for dipping, too. The Onion Strings appetizer is a secret menu
item that really delivers on taste. Another secret menu item to consider is Extra Cheddar
Biscuits. They are really good. To get these cheesier-than-average biscuits, politely request
this secret menu item. Let your server know that more cheddar is better. You may not realize
that regular menu Cheddar Bay Biscuits and secret-menu Extra Cheddar Biscuits are available
in unlimited quantities, within reason. If you gobble yours up and want some more, you
just have to ask. However, it's probably best to save room for your seafood and sides. Red
Lobster also offers some chicken and steak options.
Red Lobster was Founded By a Very Young Entrepreneur
Bill Darden was only 19 when he opened his first restaurant in Waycross, Georgia, USA.
Darden was born during 1919, so he was emotionally affected by the brutal economic impact of
the Great Depression. In 1938, he became the owner of a luncheonette. Back in the 30s,
people didn't really enjoy fast food too often. People usually visited luncheonettes, or soda
fountains, or diners, in order to access yummy food without waiting a long time for it. So,
the luncheonette was a practical business investment. His first eatery was known as
The Green Frog". One wonderful fact about Red Lobster's founder was his total unwillingness
to segregate customers at The Green Frog. People of all races were able to sit where
they wished to. Everyone was treated equally and the Green Frog promised stellar service,
"with a hop". Next, Darden started putting his money into Howard Johnson hotels and restaurants,
and these savvy investments made him a fortune. He became a powerful player in the Florida
food and hospitality business. After noting that people tended to order seafood at his
restaurants, he decided to open "The Red Lobster Inn". While the "Inn" no longer remains, the
name Red Lobster is definitely synonymous with delicious seafood in a family restaurant
setting.
Most of Red Lobster Seafood Is Frozen
Red Lobster seafood is frozen right after it's caught. It needs to be frozen because
it has to make it from the ocean to a local Red Lobster without spoiling. It's about as
fresh as it can be because it's "frozen at sea", according to sources. Red Lobster employees
have spilled the beans about the restaurant and one employee filled everyone in on just
how fresh the seafood is. This employee didn't trash the restaurant like some anonymous employees
tend to do. Red Lobster apparently has impressively high standards when it comes to seafood freshness.
This company isn't just hyping the whole "fresh fish" thing. The company really does care
about freshness and serves the freshest fish possible. So, although it's technically frozen,
the fact that it's frozen at sea makes it a very fresh catch. Red Lobster is known for
being very selective about what it takes from suppliers. For example, if a supplier offers
Red Lobster seafood from a seven-day fishing expedition, Red Lobster will accept only fish
that was frozen at sea on the last day of the fishing expedition.
Red Lobster Staff Are Rumored To Race Lobsters During Downtime
Red Lobster employees fish fresh, live lobsters out of tanks when their clients order them.
They also serve crab legs and lots of other fresh cuisine. When things get slow out back
at Red Lobster, staff are rumored to pass the time by holding lobster races. This little
tidbit comes from the Delish.com website. Before the lobster races begin, staff members
place bets on their favorite crustaceans. Bear in mind that they source for the Delish.com
story was Reddit. People mostly post anonymously there, which means that anyone can say anything.
Lots of insider information about restaurants, including Red Lobster, Taco Bell and McDonald's,
has come out via Reddit. It's just that the Reddit platform doesn't verify the truthfulness
of information posted on the platform. Lobsters who race at Red Lobster and cross the finish
line are winners but destined to be served up to hungry Red Lobster customers. Losing
lobsters will also be cooked up according to the specifications of Red Lobster clients.
Some Red Lobster Customers Gorge on Endless Shrimp
Could you chow down on one hundred and fifty pieces of Red Lobster "Endless Shrimp" in
one sitting? There are Red Lobster customers who take full advantage of the Endless Shrimp
promotion. They get more than their money's worth by gorging on shrimp. An insider, who
managed a Red Lobster, was the source for a Businessinsider.com article. According to
the insider, customers would need to nosh on three pounds of "Endless Shrimp" each for
the promotion to cost Red Lobster money, instead of generating money for the restaurant chain.
Red Lobster gets shrimp for wholesale prices, along with ingredients used to prepare Endless
Shrimp, such as peanut oil. Basically, the company is raking in the cash with Endless
Shrimp, so they don't lose any money, even when customers eat more than a hundred shrimp
during their meals. If the insider is correct, Red Lobster buys fresh for five bucks per
pound. The company gets a good deal on shrimp and this is why the promotion is profitable
for Red Lobster. Customers who opt for Endless Shrimp, which usually costs between $15.99
and $17.99, depending on the Red Lobster location, are able to choose from so many different
shrimp dishes, including Crusty Fiesta Shrimp, Shrimp Linguine Alfredo, and Hand-breaded
Shrimp. Most people don't eat a hundred pieces of shrimp or anything close to it. It's knowing
that they can if they want to that makes this unique promotion so exciting. Now that you
know more about Red Lobster, and have the inside scoop on this popular American seafood
restaurant's untold truths, you may want to drop by a local Red Lobster for a delicious
feast. This is a company that cares about seafood freshness and has been going strong
for fifty years. While Red Lobster has struggled a bit against competitors, it remains a restaurant
that Americans, and Red Lobster fans all over the world, know and trust.
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