Doors closed at local Red Lobster

After more than three decades of serving customers in Rocky Mount, the Red Lobster seafood restaurant chain appears to be pulling out of the city.

The chain’s website says that the Rocky Mount Red Lobster is “temporarily closed.” However, on Wednesday afternoon a large rental hauling truck was backed up adjacent to the east side of the restaurant’s building, and people were loading items into the vehicle.

An attempt via email earlier in the day to reach Red Lobster’s corporate headquarters in Orlando, Fla., for immediate comment or information about the situation at the Rocky Mount location was unsuccessful.

The location is in the 1000 block of North Wesleyan Boulevard in the highly commercial and residential northern to northwestern part of the city and between the interchanges with U.S. 64 and Benvenue Road.

The Associated Press on Tuesday reported that Red Lobster has been struggling for some time and that, with lease and labor costs piling up in recent years, the fast casual dining chain is reportedly considering filing for bankruptcy protection from creditors.

The AP also reported that Red Lobster has undergone multiple ownership changes in 56 years in business and that Red Lobster co-owner Thai Union Group, which is one of the world’s largest seafood suppliers, announced intentions to withdraw investment in the chain.

The AP also reported that in 2023, Red Lobster significantly expanded the chain’s all-you-can-eat shrimp deal, but that customer demand overwhelmed what the chain could afford.

Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO David Farris in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon said that he believes Red Lobster had done well in the city.

“They have provided good jobs. They have provided wonderful meals that have created great memories for a lot of people — and they have been a nice asset for the city,” Farris said.

Red Lobster television commercials as far back as the late 1970s proclaimed that the chain “is where America goes for seafood.”

The Rocky Mount Red Lobster opened for business in November 1991, with seating to accommodate 266 customers.

Mayor Sandy Roberson in a phone interview Wednesday said that he was not a super-regular customer, but a consistent patron through the years and said that the food had always been good.

Roberson, who is a businessman, said that his understanding is fast casual dining chains have been struggling for probably more than the last decade.

Generally, a fast casual restaurant gives a customer the chance to enjoy high-quality food, but in an informal setting.

By and large, Roberson said of hearing that the Rocky Mount Red Lobster has closed its doors, “I hate it. I hate it when I see any organization struggle, particularly something that has been around for 30-plus years.”

Both Farris and Roberson agree that the location is a good one for a future new occupant.

Roberson emphasized that he believes the building’s visibility and the traffic count in the immediate vicinity are too good for the location to remain vacant.

“I don’t see any reason that that won’t soon be occupied,” Roberson said.

State transportation data online said that in 2021 the average daily traffic count was 23,000 on North Wesleyan just to the northeast of the Rocky Mount Red Lobster location.

That part of North Wesleyan also is where the boulevard passes the Golden East Crossing mall.