Posted on 12/20/2013 5:17:15 PM PST by zeestephen
Red Lobster blows
Don't do that, they will haunt you to death for more business!
You can buy boxes of their batter at Wally World now.
Buca di Beppo is a unique place, that got an interesting menu and an awesome atmosphere. The one in Albany, NY has a good staff. It's a nice place to go with a group of people. Not the best place in the world, but it has something for everyone, and you can go with a group, get a few dishes. You're sharing anyway...you can try a few different things.
My Brother-in-Law’s retirement party was held at Red Lobster.
The company’s boss told us how much they had budgeted per person and it was really generous. I simply ordered everything I wanted. In fact I went over budget but it didn’t matter as the total was several hundred below target.
I had some really good food. I haven’t eaten at Red Lobster since.
When I stayed in Dallas for several weeks the per diem was around $50 for meals. That was around 1985. for the first few days I ate at expensive places and didn’t get really good food. I finally started eating at cafeterias and ordering anything and everything I wanted. It was great food and I never even came close to the per diem limit.
Investment wise, food and clothing franchises are pretty much the same business.
If you get in early, you can make some great money.
But, once they get established, they usually flat line for 10-15 years, then it's straight down to bankruptcy or reorganization.
What stands out in my mind about Red Lobster is the business plan they hatched out around 2000.
They sought - and received - MSM adulation by promising to expand into “diverse” and “underserved” neighborhoods.
Usually, there's a very good reason why a neighborhood is “underserved” - it's called financial reality.
Actually, just recently I had a really
good appettizer there and their cheese biscuits(gratis).
It was pretty good. Quiet there, though, like the place is dying...
And they just spent a ton of money remodelling the one near me. Good business plan, spend a lot of money on something just before selling it.
CC
I guess I’m picky about Italian food because my mother was Italian. It’s difficult to find a restaurant that can duplicate the dishes I grew up with. I can throw together a decent meal, but Mom and Grandma were the experts. Grandma made her own pasta noodles and her own sauce from fresh tomatoes. Nothing I could put together would come close, but Olive Garden is even further.
“it’s a reminder for me to flag down the next Scwan’s truck I see and buy a bag of frozen Cheddar Bay Biscuits.”
Recipes here:
https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=”Cheddar Bay Biscuits”
I like Olive Garden. I know it’s not the most gourmet Italian food, but it’s a little cheaper than that, and closer, and we can take the kids. We go every Christmas Eve, after the early Mass, with old friends. The service is just fine.
Red Lobster seems kind of expensive for what you get. Oddly, although our city is about 10 percent black, the clientele is majority middle class black families. Our family felt under-dressed the last time we went there because everybody else had their Sunday best on.
RL used to have delicious food, or else I just had an unsophisticated palette. But, not in recent times. I don’t know what happened. Very disappointing in recent years.
I have eaten in Red Lobsters in different locations and never had a good meal. The lobster is way overcooked and tough; the shrimp are small and tasteless. The biscuits are the only moderately decent item.
“I thought the same thing...Olive Garden...Long Horn? Really? Those are high-end dining establishments?”
I have considered Olive Garden the bottom rung on the ladder of Italian Resturant chains. And as for Long Horn? Give me a break. If I want to eat steak in a dining establishment, it ain’t gonna be Long Horn. As for Red Lobster, I think it is near the top rung on the Darden ladder.
Putting 10 fork fulls of previously frozen food (I can taste the frostburn) on a monster 18” oval plate for optical illusion while charging $25 is not working.
Tru dat!
Memo to Darden:
USED to love Red Lobster. Not so much now.
Suggestions...
1. Bring your prices back to more competitive levels.
2. Either change your background music program and/OR TURN DOWN THE FREAKING VOLUME! Last few times we visited one of your places, the music was more suited to a DISCO than and eating establishment!
You sir, are a genius.
I’m 20 miles outside of Pittsburgh.
Yep. If I want steak it’s Texas Roadhouse. Their sirloin is as good as most filets.
> I cannot stand seafood personally
> canned tuna occasionally is enough for me
I’m a bit partial to Salmon.
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