Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said popular restaurant chain Red Lobster’s bankruptcy had far more to do with private equity than with its once-infamous endless shrimp deal, reviving a line of attack she has used for months against the buyout industry.
Warren Blames Private Equity, Not Shrimp
In a social media post Monday, the Massachusetts Democrat wrote, “If anyone looked right beneath the surface, they’d be able to see that Red Lobster’s real downfall was not offering endless shrimp — it was private equity’s endless greed.”
Warren posted that message alongside a screenshot of a Bloomberg report saying Red Lobster is preparing to bring back a limited-time version of its Endless Shrimp promotion, the same offer many commentators had blamed for the chain’s 2024 bankruptcy filing. Bloomberg Law reported this week that the company is planning to relaunch the promotion as soon as this month, though in a more limited form than the costly permanent version that helped push up losses before bankruptcy.
Debt, Real Estate Costs Took Bigger Toll
But Warren argued the real damage came earlier, when private equity owners followed what she has repeatedly described as a familiar playbook of buying a functioning company, loading it with debt, selling off valuable assets and leaving the operating business to struggle under rising costs.
In June 2024, Warren made the same point after Red Lobster first collapsed, saying a private equity firm bought the chain in 2014, “loaded Red Lobster up with debt,” and saddled it with high real-estate costs after a sale-leaseback deal.
Red Lobster Case Feeds Broader Warren Crusade
Warren has frequently used Red Lobster to argue for her Stop Wall Street Looting Act, which she reintroduced with other lawmakers in 2024. Her office says the bill would make private equity firms more responsible for the debts and obligations of the companies they control and would curb the industry’s ability to strip assets while avoiding liability.
More recently, Warren has broadened that critique to other failed or struggling chains, including Joann, Toys “R” Us and Sears. In a video posted on her Senate website, she said private equity “guts everything,” buying companies, piling on debt, stripping assets and then walking away rich while workers and communities deal with the wreckage.
Photo Courtesy: Bryan J. Scrafford on Shutterstock.com
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