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Red Lobster

Red Lobster
Private
Industry Restaurant
Genre Casual dining
Founded March 22, 1968; 48 years ago (1968-03-22)
Lakeland, Florida, U.S.
Founder Bill Darden and Charley Woodsby
Headquarters 450 S. Orange Avenue
Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Number of locations
705 (2013)
Area served
United States
Kuwait
Mexico
Saudi Arabia
Canada
Japan
United Arab Emirates
Qatar
Brazil
Malaysia
Ecuador
Key people
Kim Lopdrup (CEO)
Salli Setta (President)
Products Seafood, Chicken, Steaks, Pasta
Parent Golden Gate Capital
Website www.RedLobster.com
Footnotes / references

Red Lobster is an American casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company has operations in Canada, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Mexico, and Japan, in addition to the United States. As of February 24, 2013, the company had 705 locations worldwide. Golden Gate Capital has been Red Lobster's parent company since it was acquired from Darden Restaurants on July 28, 2014.

On August 6, 2014, Red Lobster announced their new headquarters location in CNL Center City Commons in Orlando. On March 6, 2015, Red Lobster officially opened the Restaurant Support Center.

Red Lobster was founded in March 22, 1968, by entrepreneurs Bill Darden and Charley Woodsby. Originally billed as a "Harbor for Seafood Lovers", the first restaurant in Lakeland, Florida, was followed by several others throughout the southeast. In 1970, General Mills acquired Red Lobster as a five-unit company. With new backing, the chain expanded rapidly in the 1980s.

Red Lobster entered Canada in the 1980s, in many cases by buying Ponderosa restaurant locations. The company generally maintains between 25 and 30 locations in Canada, the bulk in larger urban centres in Ontario (across southern Ontario plus one in Sudbury in northern Ontario) with a smaller number in larger urban centres in all three Prairie provinces. It exited the Quebec market in September 1997 due to financial losses, and never attempted to enter the market in British Columbia.

On March 29, 1994, Bill Darden died after an extended illness at the age of 75.

In 1995, Red Lobster (along with Olive Garden and other sister chains), became part of Darden Restaurants, Inc. During that time, General Mills decided to release Darden into an independent, publicly traded corporation.


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