Red Lobster Blamed Its Bankruptcy on Endless Shrimp, Now It Might Be Coming Back

There are a lot of reasons that a business might go bankrupt – and overstretching itself, and/or mismanaging finances, are some of the most common ones out there. Back in 2024, an endless shrimp promotion became somewhat emblematic of these two factors over at Red Lobster. The seafood chain’s famous promotion was cited as one of the reasons why it struggled so much financially, leading to a bankruptcy claim and a tarnished image. 

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Now, though, it looks as though that infamous (and much-loved) promotion might be on its way back to its restaurants. We can only hope that this time, it’s crunched the numbers. Here’s what we know.

Is Endless Shrimp coming back?

According to the Financial Post, Red Lobster could well be introducing a limited-time version of its endless shrimp deal at its restaurants, as soon as this month. Crucially, Red Lobster itself is staying conspicuously quiet on whether it’s actually coming back or not, while also alluding to the fact that the offer was a heavy hitter, even though it could well have been the chain’s undoing. “Endless Shrimp has long been a guest favourite and one of our most popular promotions,” said a Red Lobster representative. “We appreciate the enthusiasm and encourage guests to keep sharing their feedback with us.”

The Financial Post states that in bringing back the Endless Shrimp offer, Red Lobster could be seeking to inject some vigor into the brand after a couple of years of real hardship. We must say, though, that we’re encouraged by the “limited-time” nature of it all: this chain has clearly figured out that a permanent offer of all the shrimp you can gorge upon might not be the best move.

What happened to Endless Shrimp?

Red Lobster’s decision to (potentially) bring back all-you-can-eat shrimp is a brave one, considering how financially ruinous it seems to have been. When Red Lobster bosses made its Endless Shrimp available permanently in 2023, it led to a huge money sink for the company. It cost the chain $11 million in a single quarter, with diners really taking the “endless” of it all to heart, and with one diner downing 108 pieces of shrimp in one sitting.

It was the latest in a long series of poor decisions made by Red Lobster management over the course of around a decade, which ultimately led to a bankruptcy claim in May 2024. Red Lobster has been struggling since then, despite a recent push to market the brand towards younger customers and a revamp of its menu. In 2026, though, it looks like it’s coming back swinging: It recently announced the return of Lobsterfest, which brought with it a quarter of new dishes, it got some canny publicity in the form of an April Fool’s prank with Pop-Tarts, and the tantalizing prospect of copious shrimp is working to turn heads.