Red Lobster Is Bringing Black People Back

Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty

There was a time when Black folks celebrated important milestones with dinner at Red Lobster.

The chain which began in the South and in the late 1960s didn’t just hire Black workers but they openly welcomed Black guests. Even huge celebrities like Chris Rock and Nicki Minaj have joked about working for the large seafood chain before becoming household names. Even Beyoncé once sang about her love for the seafood empire in her 2016 song “Formation.”

But something changed. In 2020, the restaurant was sold to another company and several bad business decisions, including making the Endless Shrimp a permanent fixture on the menu and only charging $20 per person forced the company to go bankrupt. Red Lobster closed some 140 locations as the cheddar bay biscuits can only do so much.

But all of that is changing.

According to the New York Times, the old place is popping again.

“…the company’s troubles felt far away on a recent evening at its three-level flagship location in Times Square. Amid decorative fishing nets, buoys and a gurgling lobster tank, dozens of influencers gathered with the company’s chief executive, Damola Adamolekun, who took over the job last September. Wine glasses in hand, they sang along as Usher’s ‘Nice and Slow’ played from speakers while servers roved with trays of bacon-wrapped scallops and coconut shrimp.”

Adamolekum, who stars in the company’s commercials, has not only added a new look to the place, but he’s also working to bring back Red Lobster’s core market: Black people.

“Black Americans tell me it was a celebratory experience, and I think people were sad to lose that and want to get it back,” the Nigerian-American Adamolekum told the Times.

The 36-year-old has already been credited with bringing P.F. Chang’s back from the brink. What Adamolekum hopes to build on is Red Lobster’s roots with Black America.

From the Times:

As the Black middle class grew, so did the demand for an “accessible opportunity for a special meal,” says Marcia Chatelain, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on McDonald’s, “Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America.” Red Lobster fit the bill. In an interview with CNN last year, Clarence Otis Jr., the former chief executive of Darden, the parent company of Red Lobster from 1968 to 2014, said Red Lobster “cultivated Black customers” and refused to shy away “from that customer base like some brands have.”

Social media overwhemly agrees with the changes that have come to iconic seafood restaurant. See the reactions below. 

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