Red Lobster Hospitality LLC is an American casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company has operations across most of the United States (including Puerto Rico, Guam) and Canada, as well as in China, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates; as of June 23, 2020, the company had 719 locations worldwide.
The first Red Lobster restaurant was opened on January 18, 1968, in Lakeland, Florida, by entrepreneurs Bill Darden and Charley Woodsby. The oft-quoted date of March 1968 is based on the March 27, 1968 incorporation of Red Lobster Inns of America, Inc. (now GMRI, Inc.) in the Florida Secretary of State’s Office.
Originally billed as a “Harbor for Seafood Lovers”, the first restaurant was followed by four others throughout the American South. By the early 1970s, Red Lobster expanded throughout the Southeast, establishing them as the leader not only in chain seafood restaurants but in all of the casual dining. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, Red Lobster grew to 350 restaurants strong. And in 1995, after decades of success and growth, Red Lobster (along with the Olive Garden and later Bahama Breeze) was spun into Darden Restaurants. Golden Gate Capital became Red Lobster’s parent company when it was acquired from Darden Restaurants on July 28, 2014.
Red Lobster also has a long history of supporting high seafood sustainability standards, including being one of the founders of the Global Aquaculture Alliance, whose certification program has become one of the most influential forces in sustainably farmed seafood. Red Lobster was also one of the leaders in adopting Best Aquaculture Practice standards for shrimp, salmon, tilapia and other seafood.
According to historyofbranding.com; en.wikipedia.org. Source of photos: internet
