(Bloomberg) -- Tuesday night at the Red Lobster in Times Square, Chief Executive Officer Damola Adamolekun had the lobster pappardelle for at least his 10th time.
The 35-year-old CEO has been sampling the new dish at outposts throughout the US to check its quality and consistency since the company exited bankruptcy in September. Red Lobster’s flagship Manhattan location was his latest stop, where he and fellow executives tried bacon-wrapped scallops from the restaurant’s recently refreshed menu and sipped holiday cocktails such as Snowglobe Sangria.
More changes are coming, to everything from the decor and music inside its restaurants to its supply chain and the technology in its kitchens. But to Adamolekun, who previously led P.F. Chang’s during its Covid-era slump, the most important task is overhauling the brand’s image in the minds of US consumers, especially diners closer to his own age.
“Countless people grew up going to Red Lobster at important times in their lives,” Adamolekun said in an interview on Wednesday. “Our job is to restore it so that generations to come can continue to do so.”
Adamolekun is just weeks into the job of charting the 56-year-old seafood chain’s future after exiting Chapter 11 with almost 100 fewer stores and a lot less debt.
There will be no more “endless shrimp”; that money-losing promotion helped hasten the company’s collapse earlier this year. Instead, he’s pushing a freshened experience inside Red Lobster’s restaurants to broaden its appeal beyond its current diners, who are more than 55 years old on average.
Key to that shift will be luring more millennials, people generally born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s. That group will soon be the highest-earning and highest-spending demographic, he said. A millennial himself, Adamolekun said his age makes him well-placed to help Red Lobster appeal to his peers’ sensibilities. Though he’s not on social media, he said the chain plans to boost advertising on social platforms and line up celebrity partnerships to be announced next year around the annual “Lobsterfest” event.
Some of his early efforts are making an impact. Sales ticked up this past weekend after company launched its refreshed menu earlier this month, Adamolekun said.
“Everyone knows Red Lobster,” Adamolekun said, citing internal research indicating 98% of Americans recognized the brand. “What we’re focused on now is translating that awareness into relevance, and into visits.”
Red Lobster exited bankruptcy after a roughly three-month reorganization and preceding turnaround effort that saw some customers defect. The company had sought court protection after struggling with falling sales and high rent costs.
“There’s been so much turmoil around the business that some people just opted out,” Adamolekun said. “You lost some customers in all the noise, so we want to invite these people back to the restaurant and give them a reason to come back.”
There’s more on Adamolekun’s to-do list beyond updating Red Lobster’s menu and image. Many of the company’s roughly 545 locations have a backlog of costly improvements that need to be addressed, such as kitchen technology, new roofs and HVAC upgrades, he said.
Reviving sales will be key to carrying out those and other improvements. The chain received $70 million from investors led by Fortress Investment Group to help fund the turnaround. The hedge fund controls Red Lobster after providing a 2019 rescue loan and then buying it out of bankruptcy.
He’s also going up against fast-casual eateries such as Chipotle and Cava that have eroded the market share of casual dining chains like Red Lobster and its competitors.
But to Adamolekun, the restaurant’s seafood niche gives it an edge. After all, there’s no quick-service alternative that offers shrimp scampi and lobster pappardelle.
“It’s easier for some brands to battle” the fast-casual competition, he said. “I’d much rather be us.”
--With assistance from Jonathan Randles and Daniela Sirtori.
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