Flavor Flav is doing his part to save Red Lobster after the seafood restaurant chain filed for bankruptcy – making sure that everyone can continue to enjoy its famed cheddar biscuits.
Last month, the casual dining chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed dozens of restaurants amid massive losses from its “endless” seafood deals. Upon learning that the company had filed for bankruptcy, the Public Enemy rapper took to his social media to profess that he will do everything he can to “help save” Red Lobster.
“YOOOO, I use my platform to help others and now I wanna use it to help save one of America’s greatest dining dynasties,” Flavor Flav posted to X, formerly Twitter, on May 22. “Yo @redlobster CALL ME!!! I gotchu.”
It seemed the 65-year-old hip hop artist kept his promise, when he revealed on June 3 that he had purchased the entire menu for his family at a Red Lobster location. Taking to his social media, Flavor Flav posed in front of a table filled with seafood, sides, appetizers, and its iconic Cheddar Bay Biscuits – traditional biscuits decked out with garlic, butter, and cheese.
“Ya boy said he wuz gonna do everything to help Red Lobster and save the Cheddar Bay Biscuits… ordered the whole menu,” he wrote over the photo, which showed him standing in front of the table holding a biscuit in his hand.
In the Instagram caption, Flavor Flav wrote: “Took my family to @redlobster and ordered the whole menu!!!”
The official account for Red Lobster replied in the comments section: “It’s flavor time, boyeeeeeeee!”
When one Instagram user claimed that “venture capitalists destroyed” the chain restaurant, which was originally founded in 1968, the rapper wrote back: “Imma save them.”
Another fan expressed that “it’s a wrap” for Red Lobster, to which Flavor Flav said: “They ain’t done yet, not if Flav has anything to say and do ‘bout it.”
“Love that cheddar bay biscuit,” commented someone else, as he wrote back: “Who doesn’t?”
For decades, Red Lobster grew in popularity across the US for its large menu offerings of shrimp and lobster. The Florida-based chain was founded by Bill Darden and Charley Woodsby, who wanted to make seafood restaurants more accessible and affordable for families. Red Lobster was sold to General Mills in 1970 and went on to form Darden Restaurants, which also owns Olive Garden.
As Darden Restaurants began to focus on its more profitable chains, the company sold Red Lobster to San Francisco-based private equity firm Golden Gate Capital in 2014. Rather than purchasing the restaurant chain for its then-estimated worth of $2.1bn, Golden Gate Capital instead sold off most of Red Lobster’s real estate to another company called American Realty Capital Properties – forcing Red Lobster to rent its own restaurants back.
In fall 2023, Red Lobster reportedly lost millions of dollars on its Ultimate Endless Shrimp promotion, which charged $20 for an all-you-can-eat shrimp deal. While the promotion did increase traffic to Red Lobster locations, more people opted for the $20 deal than expected and Red Lobster’s seafood supplier reported a $19m share of loss from the chain.
In its bankruptcy filing, Red Lobster stated that the company’s overall liabilities are estimated between $1bn and $10bn. Red Lobster continues to operate 700 locations worldwide.
