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Inside the Red Lobster clearance auctions and the 48 shuttered restaurants that look like the Mary Celeste
The auction of everything inside 48 of Red Lobster's shuttered restaurants starts on Thursday - with details of how it will work now emerging.
It is online-only with the contents of each outlet being sold as a job lot likely to attract owners of other restaurants rather than customers.
But fans of the chain can get an insight into just how abruptly restaurants were shut - thanks to pictures posted online by the auction house.
Since potential bidders cannot go to see the lots, photos of all the items - from lobster tanks industrial fridges - have been posted online.
They give a chilling insight into how quickly restaurants were shuttered on Monday night - with leftover food still on trays and fresh food for the next day ready.
Other images of Colonial Heights appear to show leftover food on trays
Prepared meals in a food heater in images of the Colonial Heights location
Live lobster still in their tank at the Grand Forks red Lobster in North Dakota
The seafood chain announced the immediate shuttering of almost 100 restaurants across 21 states on Monday night - and is auctioning off the contents of 48 of them.
The auctions of the restaurants' contents, run by Restaurant Equipment Bid, will take place online on Thursday beginning at 10:30am EST.
The firm, which specialize in selling off gear from restaurants that close down and need to liquidate quickly, released images of items up for grabs at some of the locations on Wednesday.
At the Grand Forks location in North Dakota goods include a fish tank still containing live lobsters.
Potatoes left on trays ready to be cooked, milk in fridges and cutlery strewn across the tables are also seen in images advertising the contents of Grand Forks.
Other newly released images show a fully stocked walk-in fridge on the auction page for Council Bluff's Red Lobster in Iowa.
Fresh lettuce and fruit as well as packaged sauce and baked bread suggests the speed at which the restaurants were closed and auction administrators brought in.
The struggling chain is eyeing up a possible Chapter 11 filing to restructure its debt, allowing it to discard long-term contracts and renegotiate new leases.
The chain, which started as a single restaurant in Lakeland, Florida, in 1968 has around 650 locations across almost all states.
An image released by the auctioneers at the Colonial Heights, Virginia restaurant shows a large fridge with a pineapple, juice and plenty of liquor including beers and wine still in place.
Other images of Colonial Heights appear to show leftover food on trays, prepared meals in a food heater, and dishes waiting to be washed on a rack, likely from the restaurants last serving day on Sunday.
An advertising picture of the bar available as part of the Auburn, Alabama auction shows glasses and a receipt still out on the counter
A fully stocked walk-in fridge on the auction page for Council Bluff's Red Lobster in Iowa
Dishes waiting to be washed on a rack at red Lobster's Colonial Heights location
Potatoes left on trays ready to be cooked seen in images advertising the contents of Grand Forks
The interior of grand Forks, whose furniture will also form part of the auction bid
An advertising picture of the bar available as part of the Auburn, Alabama auction shows glasses and a receipt still out on the counter.
Another image from Auburn shows the steel kitchen surfaces covered with plastic boxes and washcloths showing its recent use.
Other images show empty dining rooms where the furniture, including wooden chairs, leather covered booths will form part of the auction bids.
Chopped food and frozen shrimp can also be seen in images from Council Bluffs kitchen.
News of the bankruptcy was first reported by Bloomberg, which said the restaurant chain is taking advice from the law firm King & Spalding.
Those familiar with the matter told the outlet the decision was yet to be finalized, but that bankruptcy would allow the company to continue operating.
Red Lobster's famous shrimp promotion came as it wanted to lure in more customers after significant losses of $5.4 million in the second quarter of 2023.
But those plans backfired since the 'all you can eat' promotion was too generous.
Another image shows the Auburn steel kitchen surfaces covered with boxes and washcloths
Images of Auburn's kitchen show its recent use with dirty cooking materials left on the side
A large fridge with a pineapple, juice and liquor still in place Colonial Heights location
Chopped food and frozen shrimp can also be seen in images from Council Bluffs kitchen
For just $20, diners could indulge in as much of the shellfish as they could stomach.
The 'Endless Shrimp' offer was initially a special but in June it claimed a permanent spot on the Red Lobster menu. Foot traffic reportedly increased by 4 percent as a result.
More people were ordering the Endless Shrimp than the company anticipated - likely because the deal went viral on social media platforms like TikTok, where people showed off how much they ate to get their money's worth.
'For those who have been in the US recently, $20 was very cheap. And the rationale for this promotion was to say we knew the price was cheap, but the idea was to bring more traffic in the restaurants,' said CFO Ludovic Garnier in November.
'But something which was different from our expectation is the proportion of the people selecting these promotions was much higher compared to expectation,' he added.
Eventually, the company bumped the price of their Endless Shrimp up to $25, then again to $27, in a bid to reclaim some of the losses.
Closures were announced across 21 states on Monday night - effective immediately. This map shows how they are spread across America. Scroll down for the full list the town or city
The chain, which started as a single restaurant in Lakeland, Florida , in 1968 has around 650 locations across almost all states with its menu offering variations of shrimp-infused items
Red Lobster has had multiple owners in recent years. It was previously owned by the Darden restaurant group, which also owned Olive Garden, but was taken over by Golden Gate Capital in 2014.
In 2020 it was purchased by Thai Union, which this year said its 'ongoing financial requirements no longer align with Thai Union's capital allocation priorities.'