Long John Silver's isn't the fried fish superstar that it once was.
Let's take a look at what went wrong with Long John Silver's, and what they're doing
to try to turn the tide of this seafood institution.
Long John Silver's was founded in 1969 by Jim Patterson, who had a simple idea: Bring
the sunny seaside fish and chips eating experience to families nationwide.
In 1999, though, the chain was bought by A&W, which later became part of Yum Brands.
That brought a lot of changes.
Gone were the traditional Cape Cod-style blue-roofed buildings filled with nautical bric-a-brac.
Instead, many locations became generic fast food joints, often splitting their space with
another Yum Brands chains like A&W or Taco Bell.
"Yum, yum, yum!!"
The overall impact to the dining experience was profound, but it took awhile for the company
to right the ship.
In 2018, the finally unveiled a new, modern design based on the original seaside snack
shack feel.
Whether or not that will turn the tide remains to be seen.
How damaging was the push to have locations split space with other brands?
In 2010, a Long John Silver's franchisee filed suit against parent company Yum Brands, alleging
that the company "misled" the franchisee in its determination to co-brand his 26 locations
with the A&W brand.
The lawsuit alleged that the A&W and Long John Silver's co-branding efforts resulted
in restaurants that were not as profitable as stand-alone locations, and made cross-promotion
between brands next to impossible.
There was also a 2005 class action lawsuit alleging unfair labor practices, plus other
lawsuits from franchisees.
The good news?
Yum Brands finally gave up, and in 2011 sold Long John Silver's to an investment group
that included both franchisees and chain founder Jim Patterson, who hope to right the ship.
When Long John Silver's debuted in the late '60s, fried food was all the rage.
But that was 50 years ago.
A half-century later, people are craving healthier options, and the chain has been slow to respond.
A menu overhaul which includes grilled options and healthier side dishes was finally unveiled
in 2018, but it was only rolled out to a few locations.
New COO Blain Shortreed said in 2019 he planned to focus on rolling out the new menu to more
locations over the course of the year.
Here's hoping it's not too late.
"Long John Silver's, may I help you?
Mm-hm, fish strip?
Fish strip!"
One problem that the chain has very little control over is the price of seafood.
While chains like McDonald's and Burger King can buy cheap products at huge profit margins,
Long John Silver's is at the mercy of a seafood market which is expensive and fickle.
Profit margins are thin, meaning that when other chains slash prices and offer special
deals, Long John Silver's is often unable to respond in kind, leaving them financially
high and dry.
"Long John Silver's is the perfect place to learn the value of a dollar.
Right, boys?'
"Mrs. Salmich?!"
Lent is a Catholic religious observance where members are discouraged from eating red meat
on Fridays as a shout out to Jesus and the 40-day fast that led up to his crucifixion.
And that results in massive sales boosts for Long John Silver's, which begins its Lent
marketing six months in advance.
In 2017, the chain sold 2 million pounds of seafood during Lent; on average, Friday sales
at Long John Silver's during Lent go up by 84 percent.
You know the old adage: Religious folk love delicious crustaceans.
"As fine a crustacean as a man could ask for!"
That's great, but it means that tens of millions of customers are treating the chain as a once
a year destination, instead of a year round dining option.
Changing that perception would go a long way to help the bottom line.
In 2013, the Center for Science in the Public Interest named the chain's "Big Catch" menu
item "The Worst Meal in America," thanks in part to 33 grams of trans fat to go with 3700
milligrams of sodium among other dietary offenses.
CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson said in a press release that the meal was,
"A heart attack on a hook.
Instead of the Big Catch, I'd call it America's Deadliest Catch."
That bad press didn't help anything, so it's no surprise that a year later, Long John Silver's
announced they were completely removing trans fat from their menu.
Even the chain's current owners, LJS Partners LLC, seem like they'd be happy to unload the
business, given half the chance.
A sale looked imminent in 2015, after LJS Partners and a Texas-based company called
KeyCorp entered into a preliminary sales agreement.
However, both companies, quote, "mutually agreed to terminate the agreement" at the
last minute.
Now, LJS Partners is left holding the company, with no plans to sell, quote, "for the foreseeable
future."
Sounds like it's time for someone to finally figure out how to reignite our national love
affair with quick-service fried fish.
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