Greed, Gluttony and the Crackup of Red Lobster

In June of last year, Red Lobster announced that Ultimate Endless Shrimp — as much as you can scarf down for just $20 — would become an “all day, every day” fixture of the menu.

Game on, said America.

Diners swarmed the chain’s nearly 700 restaurants, ordering round after round of Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp (breaded, sweet and fried), Walt’s Favorite (breaded and fried), Garlic Shrimp Scampi (shrimp in a pool of butter and garlic sauce), Shrimp Linguini Alfredo (shrimp on a pile of pasta with garlic sauce) and Grilled Shrimp Skewers (self-explanatory). The first round came with two sides: coleslaw, French fries, mashed potatoes, baked potato or rice.

It was a giddy, raucous display of gluttony. TikTokers sank into upholstered booths and declared their goals — “Hi, my name is Onalee and I’m going to eat 65 shrimp tonight” — or posted videos of shrimp-gobbling marathons. “Only eat at Red Lobster for an entire day?” said a grinning mattpeterson__fan-764. “Challenge accepted!”

Among employees, news that Endless Shrimp would, in fact, never end was greeted with dread. As an occasional special over the years, it was always a frantic ordeal. Cooks and servers could barely keep up. Bargain hunters griped about the pace of refills. Cops were summoned to handle diners enraged that they couldn’t get takeaway bags.

It was a struggle under the best of conditions, and, last year, Red Lobster was wobbling. Shunned by young diners and crowded by cheaper rivals, the chain would later report that its customer count had plunged 30 percent since 2019.