disambiguation . this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message red lobster type private industry restaurant genre casual dining founded march 22 1968 ; 48 years ago 1968 03 22 lakeland florida u.s. founder bill darden and charley woodsby headquarters 450 s. orange avenue orlando florida u.s. number of locations 705 2013 area served united states kuwait mexico saudi arabia canada japan united arab emirates qatar brazil malaysia ecuador 1 key people kim lopdrup ceo salli setta president products seafood chicken steaks pasta parent golden gate capital website www.redlobster.com footnotes references 2 3 red lobster is an american casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in orlando florida . the company has operations in canada malaysia saudi arabia the united arab emirates qatar mexico and japan in addition to the united states . as of february 24 2013 the company had 705 locations worldwide . golden gate capital has been red lobster s parent company since it was acquired from darden restaurants on july 28 2014 . 4 on august 6 2014 red lobster announced their new headquarters location in cnl center city commons in orlando . 5 on march 6 2015 red lobster officially opened the restaurant support center . 6 contents 1 history 1.1 new prototype 2 promotions 3 controversy 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit red lobster was founded in march 22 1968 by entrepreneurs bill darden and charley woodsby . originally billed as a harbor for seafood lovers the first restaurant in lakeland florida was followed by several others throughout the southeast . in 1970 general mills acquired red lobster as a five unit company . with new backing the chain expanded rapidly in the 1980s . red lobster entered canada in the 1980s in many cases by buying ponderosa restaurant locations . the company generally maintains between 25 and 30 locations in canada the bulk in larger urban centres in ontario across southern ontario plus one in sudbury in northern ontario with a smaller number in larger urban centres in all three prairie provinces . it exited the quebec market in september 1997 due to financial losses and never attempted to enter the market in british columbia . 7 on march 29 1994 bill darden died after an extended illness at the age of 75 . 8 in 1995 red lobster along with olive garden and other sister chains became part of darden restaurants inc. during that time general mills decided to release darden into an independent publicly traded corporation . 3 the brand specializes in seafood including lobster shrimp fish crab and mollusks . red lobster restaurant in yonkers new york the red lobster in kitchener ontario this is one of the ponderosa remakes as are most canadian red lobster restaurants . the red lobster in london ontario this one is also a ponderosa remake and also has an addition to the right as it was added on when the dundas location in london closed around the late 80s . new prototype edit the new prototype design as seen at the baton rouge louisiana location in 2009 red lobster debuted its new bar harbor restaurant prototype modeled after coastal new england . 9 the new exterior features include shingle and stone towers signal flags and adirondack style benches . the interior updates include dark wood paneling warm toned fabrics soft lighting and nautical decor and artwork . 10 promotions edit a gaithersburg maryland red lobster restaurant in september 2013 a red lobster restaurant in ann arbor michigan red lobster has offered an endless snow crab leg promotion twice in its history . however in 2003 the promotion resulted in parent company darden restaurants taking a 3 million charge to third quarter earnings resulting in president edna morris departure from the company . the ill timed promotion was launched amid high wholesale crab leg prices . the chain also underestimated how many times a guest would order more . further complicating matters at the restaurant level was the amount of time a guest spent table side in the restaurant cracking crab legs . this resulted in increased wait times in the lobby and overall diminished guest capacity per hour . 11 in february 2016 american singer beyonc referenced red lobster in her single formation . after unexpectedly releasing the single and performing it during the super bowl 50 halftime show red lobster reported a 33 % sales increase due to the reference . 12 controversy edit in february 2016 red lobster was exposed for using less expensive langostino along with maine lobster into their lobster bisque recipe . 13 see also edit list of seafood restaurants food portal references edit our international locations . red lobster hospitality llc . 2016 . archived from the original on 13 june 2016 . retrieved 13 june 2016 . darden 2011 annual report pdf . darden restaurants inc. retrieved april 12 2012 . a b darden restaurants inc. may 29 2011 . fy 2011 10 k . u.s. securities and exchange commission . retrieved april 11 2012 . darden completes sale of red lobster to golden gate capital . marketwatch . july 28 2014 . retrieved august 26 2014 . red lobster announces location of new headquarters . orlando sentinel . august 6 2014 . retrieved september 26 2014 . red lobster debuts new downtown hq . orlando sentinel . march 6 2015 . retrieved february 11 2016 . dur coup pour la restauration au qu bec et en ontario . radio canada nouvelles . september 13 1997 . retrieved may 18 2012 . in french . christine shenot march 30 1994 . founder of red lobster william b. darden dies . orlando sentinel . retrieved may 17 2014 . bar harbor overview . darden concepts inc. retrieved april 11 2012 . perla trevizo december 25 2009 . red lobsters cook up fresher paven look . timesfreepress.com . retrieved april 11 2012 . benita d. newton september 26 2003 . all you can eat was too much . st. petersburg times online . retrieved april 11 2012 . http www.cbsnews.com news red lobster sales surged after beyonces formation what you need to know before you eat lobster this valentine s day . 2016 02 10 . retrieved 2016 07 23 . external links edit official website red lobster s canadian website red lobster s malaysian website red lobster s japanese website darden restaurants inc. website v t e darden restaurants inc. holdings olive garden longhorn steakhouse the capital grille yard house bahama breeze seasons 52 eddie v s prime seafood divested smokey bones york steak house red lobster defunct china coast retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title red lobster & oldid 743910311 categories companies based in orlando floridarestaurants established in 1968companies established in 1968restaurant chains in the united statesseafood restaurants in the united states1968 establishments in floridahidden categories articles needing additional 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