Red Lobster closes 48 locations, auctions off contents

Red Lobster has closed about 48 locations and is in the process of liquidating its assets at those locations, according to a LinkedIn post from TAGeX Brands CEO and Founder Neal Sherman, who said that his company is handling the equipment auctions. The auctions are live online and run until Thursday. 

The auction site says that winners will receive the entire contents of shuttered Red Lobster. The auction of a Dublin, Georgia, location includes microwaves, ranges, pasta cookers, refrigerators, fryers, chairs and booths, for example. 

The closures and auctions span across 21 states; Red Lobster’s website list these locations as closed. Restaurant Dive called six of the Red Lobsters listed as up for auction. Those calls went to silence, without even ringing. 

Red Lobster has been rumored to be considering bankruptcy for several months and has been having trouble paying its bills on time. It recently hired a restructuring expert as its CEO. The brand’s minority owner, Thai Union Group, is in the process of divesting from the brand after deciding that the chain’s financial requirements no longer met its capital allocation priorities. 

Red Lobster did not respond to a request for comment on the closures by press time.