All You Can't Eat: Red Lobster's Last Supper with Lewberger | 74

The Big Flop

Wondery

Society & Culture, Comedy, Business

4.6 • 884 Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Bill Darden built Red Lobster from a single Florida restaurant into a billion-dollar empire. But after private equity vultures swooped in, they pushed endless shrimp promotions and installed toxic management that had workers wading through kitchen grease. Coupled with cringe-worthy viral campaigns, this is the story of how America's seafood sanctuary turned into an all-you-can-eat disaster.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You know what's even better than listening to the big flop?
0:03.6	Listening to the big flop without any ads.
0:06.7	With Wondery Plus, you can enjoy the floppiest of flops, completely uninterrupted.
0:12.0	It's like having a front row seat to the world's biggest train wrecks.
0:15.7	Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or in Apple Podcasts and upgrade your listening experience today.
0:25.9	People have told me that hands down the best food in any chain restaurant in the world
0:35.3	is the Cheddar Bay Biscuits at at red lobster. Now, I cannot confirm
0:39.8	or deny this because brace yourself, besties. I have never been to a red lobster. Tragic,
0:46.5	I am part of the problem. But even the power of a legendary biscuit couldn't save the subject
0:53.6	of today's big flop from a world of pain.
0:56.4	And let's just say their troubles aren't shrimp-y. They're jumbo. Talk about being boiled alive.
1:04.3	Without warning, Red Lobster has announced its closing 99 restaurants across the USA.
1:09.3	When you saw endless shrimp, you know, what did you think?
1:11.7	I said that's a very expensive product to give away endlessly.
1:14.0	Not a Red Lobster. It has officially filed for bankruptcy.
1:16.8	Y'all not fucking your woman good enough to earn that trip to Red Lobster.
1:20.3	That's what happened.
1:22.1	We are on a sinking ship. Let's talk about something that might be keeping up at night.
1:36.2	Cyber security.
1:37.4	According to Vantor's latest state of trust report,
1:40.3	it's the number one concern for UK businesses.
1:43.4	That's where Vantor comes in. Whether you're a
	...

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