Red Lobster Closings: Impact on South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota Locations

A once dominant restaurant chain is shuttering more than 80 of its locations across America.

Red Lobster says it will immediately close 87 restaurants in 27 states.

At this point, the closures are listed as 'temporary' on the company's website, but restaurant equipment liquidator TAGeX Brands has auction listings posted for 48 Red Lobster locations in the U.S.

Two of those locations are in the Tri-State (South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota) area: Council Bluffs and Waterloo, Iowa.

As for now, neither of South Dakota's two locations (Sioux Falls, Rapids City), any of Iowa's six other restaurants (Ames, Cedar Rapids, Coralville, Davenport, Sioux City, West Des Moines) or the 11 Minnesota locations (Bloomington, Burnsville, Duluth, Golden Valley, Mankato, Maple Grove, Maplewood, Minneapolis, Oakdale, Roseville, St. Cloud) are on the closing list.

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The Orlando, Florida-based company opened its first location in 1968 in Lakeland, Florida. In 2020, the chain had more than 700 locations worldwide in more than a dozen countries.

Last month (April 16), Red Lobster was reportedly preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, after an $11 million loss from its 'endless shrimp' promotion.