Red Lobster brings back Endless Shrimp after promotion helped push chain toward bankruptcy

Red Lobster is once again offering its Endless Shrimp promotion, which contributed to millions of dollars in losses before the seafood chain filed for bankruptcy two years ago.

The company told Fox News Digital it decided to bring back Endless Shrimp because the promotion still matters enormously to its customers, who “never stopped asking for it.”

“They continued telling us they missed it, showed up when we brought it back this spring and kept asking for more after that run ended,” Red Lobster said.

Red Lobster closed dozens of locations nationwide in May 2024 before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Fox News previously reported.

Many analysts and media reports have cited the company’s decision to make Endless Shrimp a permanent offering as one factor behind its financial troubles.

Endless Shrimp returned to select Red Lobster locations in the spring of 2026, but the chain’s 37-year-old CEO, Damola Adamolekun, made it clear in a statement to affiliate FOX 13 Tampa Bay that the promotion would be available for a limited time only.

“The previous model did not work, so we did not repeat it,” Red Lobster told Fox News Digital. “We rebuilt Endless Shrimp around much stronger operational and financial discipline, including better forecasting, kitchen flow, menu structure and restaurant support. We also designed the current offer to work as a dine-in experience, with pricing that can vary by market. The new standard is simple: Endless Shrimp has to work for the guest, the restaurant team and the business.”

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The spring run of Endless Shrimp “met and exceeded our expectations in several important ways,” Red Lobster told Fox News Digital.

“Guest satisfaction significantly outperformed the average for Red Lobster promotions, restaurant-team support was stronger than it had been in years, and our internal team Proud to Serve and Recommend scores both came in above historical levels,” the company said. “Just as importantly, guests continued asking for Endless Shrimp after the promotion ended.”

In June 2026, Adamolekun said he was planning “the greatest comeback in the history of the restaurant industry.”

His plan includes streamlining operations, closing underperforming restaurants, increasing engagement with customers and tapping into their nostalgia.

One of the biggest lessons Red Lobster said it learned from the previous Endless Shrimp promotion was that “guest demand alone is not enough.”

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The changes to Endless Shrimp are one example of how Red Lobster operates differently today, the company said.

“We are focused first on the guest, but that guest focus is backed by greater operational discipline and financial rigor. With Endless Shrimp, we took an experience guests love, addressed what wasn’t working and proved we could deliver it successfully under a stronger model. That same approach is guiding the broader business,” Red Lobster said.