History | Marketing
Red Lobster’s Unlimited Crabs Disaster
History's greatest all-you-can-eat mistake.
Mini-grilled cheeses, ceviche, oysters, and more lined the aisles of Golden Corral.
It was the perfect place for a swimmer. We could affordably binge calories to fuel a grueling training schedule.
Unlike many of the patrons, I’d earned this meal.
I marveled at some of the people I saw. They seemed to live at this buffet. They waited to get hungry, ate again, went to the bathroom, ate again, bathroom, eat, bathroom, eat.
It was crazy.
Being brutally honest: They were the most obese people you’ll ever see. It was a testament to America’s obesity epidemic, which is done no favors by all-you-can-eat buffets.
And so I was surprised to learn of the strategy that Red Lobster took on — which would ultimately get their CEO fired.
Employees still talk about the disaster 20 years later.
It’s official lore.
Explaining the business
Red Lobster is the Olive Garden of seafood, which basically means it sucks.
