I went to Red Lobster for the first time in 10 years. Here's my experience.
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The Cheddar Bay Biscuits I had during my recent visit to Red Lobster were...just OK. Photo: Kristal Dixon/Axios
Red Lobster — the casual dining chain that put casual dining chains on the map and brought affordable seafood to the landlocked masses — is fighting for its survival after filing for bankruptcy and closing dozens of restaurants nationwide.
The big picture: If you grew up in a working-class family with little to no money to spare, dining out at places like Red Lobster once meant you were big time and about to eat well. (Bonus points if that included a trip "up the road," aka the big city of Atlanta.)
- For many of us, particularly Black Americans, eating at Red Lobster was reserved for when you wanted to celebrate someone's birthday, take grandma out to eat, or for an occasional after-church meal with family.
- And you knew not to embarrass your parents.
State of play: The chain's popularity peaked in the late 20th century, but has struggled since the early 2000s due to factors including changes in ownership, competitors like Olive Garden, and later the growing popularity of fast-casual concepts like Chipotle and Chick-fil-A, CNN reported.
- Plus, CNN said, promotions like endless crab and endless shrimp proved to be so popular they actually hurt profits.
- Earlier this year, Red Lobster indicated it wants to close more than 120 restaurants all over the country, including as many as seven in Georgia, according to WRDW.
Dig in: I haven't eaten at Red Lobster in more than 10 years, so I decided to have lunch there last week before this iconic brand disappears forever from our roadside landscape.
- The drive to Red Lobster's Camp Creek Parkway location in East Point wasn't bad, but trying to get in and out of the shopping center where it was located was mentally exhausting.
The vibe: I mean, it's Red Lobster!
- I got there at the tail end of the lunch rush, and a dozen or so people were eating inside the dimly lit dining room.
- I sat in a booth near the entrance, and the window gave a view of planes coming in for landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
- A man and woman seated behind me told the waitress they were celebrating his birthday, which made me smile.
- Music playing over the speaker ranged from Cher to Miley Cyrus.
The waitress brought me water and three of those famous Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Sadly, they were not the same biscuits I had grown to love.
- They were soft and fresh, but they were smaller and a little flatter than what I remember.
- They also did not have enough of that garlic herb butter flavoring that has had me in a chokehold since the mid-aughts.
What I ate: My meal, hand-breaded coconut shrimp with steamed broccoli and a side salad, was fine. The shrimp wasn't overcooked, and the broccoli had plenty of seasoning.
- I wasn't expecting my lunch to be Michelin-star quality, but I didn't leave too disappointed.
Flashback: As a child growing up in a small city just south of Atlanta, the "fanciest" restaurants I was first exposed to were Western Sizzlin', Shoney's, Ryan's, and Piccadilly.
- When we didn't go out to eat, we settled for fast food restaurants, home-cooked meals, or hole-in-the-wall local joints.
If you grew up in a small town with limited dining options, chains like Red Lobster were often an introductory point to seafood.
- For me, the only fish I ate growing up was catfish because my dad loved to fry it, so Red Lobster was most likely the first time I was exposed to salmon.
- Olive Garden was where I first learned about minestrone soup.
The bottom line: The disappearance of restaurants like Red Lobster will leave people hailing from small towns with fewer opportunities to expand their culinary palates beyond fast food chains and meat-and-three options at their homegrown diners.