Red Lobster hopes Crabfest can claw back diners this summer

Last summer was hardly a fun time for popular casual dining chain Red Lobster. In May 2024, the seafood chain filed for bankruptcy. The process saw stores close and resulted in new ownership and a new CEO by the time the company exited bankruptcy in September 2024.

But this summer, Red Lobster is hoping things will be different. Instead of cost-cutting and restructuring to boost its bottom line, the chain hopes a handful of new menu items will boost foot traffic and get diners back in the doors. 

Red Lobster announces new menu items for summer 2025

“America’s favorite seafood chain” has announced the return of its popular “Crabfest” event. The annual event is timed for the summer at Red Lobster, when diners have sun, surf, and seafood on their minds. 

The company has announced that Crabfest will run from June 23 to September 14, 2025.

Red Lobster says that this year’s Crabfest celebrations will see the following new Crabfest dishes on the menu:

• Crabby Stuffed Mushrooms – A flavorful appetizer packed with rich crab stuffing
• Crab-Topped Asparagus – A premium side dish featuring asparagus topped with crab
• Crab-Topped Potato – A premium side dish, elevating a classic dish with savory crab
• Steak Oscar – Sirloin topped with lump meat in a creamy, decadent sauce
• Salmon Oscar – Atlantic salmon topped with lump crab meat in a creamy, decadent sauce

In addition to the new menu items mentioned above, Red Lobster will also offer two ways to customize their seafood boil, including Mariner’s Boil, which features a Maine lobster tail, a dozen shrimp, snow crab legs, corn, and red potatoes. Alternatively, customers can opt for the Sailor’s Boil, which features a selection of shrimp, smoked sausage, corn, and red potatoes.

Red Lobster’s 2024 bankruptcy saw significant changes at the seafood chain

Red Lobster is undoubtedly hoping its festive summer Crabfest will boost sales this year and help the company put a challenging financial period behind it.

When the company announced its plans to file for bankruptcy in May 2024, many headlines blamed the restaurant’s financial woes on its Endless Shrimp menu items, which resulted in an $11 million loss for the chain after it underestimated demand.

However, the company cited several factors that affected its financial footing, including multiple owners over a relatively short period of time, burdensome cost reduction strategies by its former owners, and costs and other problems associated with renting restaurant locations.

Red Lobster also faced challenges many other restaurant chains have faced in recent years: declining foot traffic as cash-strapped and inflation-weary customers choose to stay home and cook instead of going out to eat.

Many of these issues were addressed during its bankruptcy process, however. When the company emerged from bankruptcy protection in September, it had over 30 fewer locations, new ownership from a group of private investors including TCW Private Credit and Blue Torch, and a new CEO to run the newly formed RL Investor Holdings, which currently owns Red Lobster.

So, will the new Crabfest items help Red Lobster have a banner summer? That’s something fans of the chain will have to wait and see. But even when Crabfest ends in September, it’s unlikely the public will know just how well or poorly Crabfest went for Red Lobster—RL Investor Holdings is a private company, so it does not release public quarterly reports.