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I'll agree that they're expensive, but only because their food isn't worth spending any amount of money on. Honestly though, their prices are not expensive compared to others.
Expensive is all relative. They frequently offer a $16 dollar all you can eat shrimp dinner, and that includes all the different varieties of shrimp. They call it endless shrimp, and bread and salad is also included. Hey, I am poor, and I can easily afford this. I love shrimp, so I always get my moneys worth when they are running this promotion.
Somewhere I read that the economic downturn has been good for restaurants in general, people are going out for dinner rather than taking a more expensive weekend trip or vacation.
No idea if this is true or not.
I do know that we (Parents, Sister, and I) ate at the "Green Frog" restaurant which was Bill Darden's first (founder) back in the mid-'60s. Somewhere along the way old Bill decided that "Red Lobster" had a better cachet than "Green Frog" and the rest was history. Green Frog did feature frog's legs, so the name is not as crazy as it first seems. Had a big statue of a bullfrog out front. It was pretty good food as I recall.
Agree with those saying Red Lobster is not an expensive, upscale restaurant. It's where hubby and I go for a cheap 'seafood' dinner. Go to a place like Real Seafood Co., and expect to pay $40-$50 a plate (and even more for Lobster tail or King Crab alone). For $25 at RL, I can get Lobster, Crab, a Shrimp variety, veggies or potatoes, and a salad (but I'll admit it's not as good).
Now I live in the state with the highest unemployment, but the area I live in does fare better than the rest of the state (unemployment a bit lower, primarily white collar working force as opposed to blue collar). Overall, volume in restaurants and entertainment venues in general HAVE declined. Go into town on a weekend evening, however, and expect to wait 30-40 minutes for a table at any pick of fancy, expensive upscale dining establishments (RL not included).
It doesn't make much sense to me either and I offer no answers, other than that people will still take the pleasure to dine out and eat the food they enjoy. I'm the same way-although I prefer to spend the money on good quality food from the store and cook it myself.
Are you looking at the capacity of the restaurants during dinner time on the weekends? What does the parking lot look like on Tuesday evening? I think now that dining out is a special treat for many, something done once a month instead of once a week.
On a side note, all of the Outback Steakhouses around here do not open their doors until 4 p.m., due to the decline of business during lunch hours. Many many restaurants, popular chains too, have sealed their doors and the lots remain vacant. So no, I don't think that people out here are eating out as much as they used to.
Seriously, you are way off base on this. Red Lobster is far from a high end chain. They are a partner of the Olive Garden and Longhorn Steak House, all of which are middle of the road chain restaurants. Also, there are still lots of people who are middle class, and/or wealthy who can easily spend $20 for a dinner.
A slight correction. Darden is the company that runs and owns Red Lobster, They also own Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze and Longhorn Steak house, The Capital Grille and Season 52.... The last is the only real up scale facility they have. They use to own Smokey Bones but sold it off.
Personally, I place no confidence in the news media. They have to say something and always make everything sound far worse than reality. I find so little value in what they have to say I really don't even watch them any more.
As to the economy there are several chains that have suffered, Bennigans, Donatos,Uno's, and others. perhaps with their closings it strengthens the survivors.... There are fewer choices now.
looking-for-a-bargain-dinner-try-lobster.html: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/107440/looking-for-a-bargain-dinner-try-lobster.html?mod=family-love_money - broken link)
Perhaps this is what is altering your perception on Red Lobster doing well in this economy. The cost of their primary good is dropping yet your cost remains the same or have increased. Hence, they are paying less for lobsters while making more money on it.
And no, Red Lobster is no way close to being an upscale restaurant. It's only a small step above fast food establishments like Chipotle, Noodles and Company, etc.
Wow. What's the economic environment like where you live that Red Lobster is considered an expensive restaurant?
If you check on the Frugal Forum here as well as many other places where people discuss tight finanaces,, you will find that many many people spend a week on groceries what two meals at a Red Lobster cost.
So it can be considered 'expensive' .
Since so many of you that consider it cheap also disparage it, can we assume those without budget problems don't go there and that the bulk of patrons must be those that consider it pricey?
Going to Red Lobster once a month or maybe twice i not a huge dent in your wallet. Every Saturday is something different.
A family of 5 going to Red Lobster twice per month is a $200.00 dent in your wallet. To me, that's considerable. That's a car payment. That's a gas & electricity bill.
If a family can afford it, after all the important stuff is taken care of, it's cool. If not, it's foolish.
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I'll agree that they're expensive, but only because their food isn't worth spending any amount of money on.
Honestly though, their prices are not expensive compared to others.
