Soon-to-be Red Lobster owner Fortress Investment Group named Damola Adamolekun as the chain’s new CEO.
The private equity firm will acquire the seafood concept via a credit bid, pending court approval.
Adamolekun previously served as CEO of P.F. Chang’s from February 2019 to December 2023.
“Red Lobster is an iconic brand with a tremendous future. I’m looking forward to working with our team members across North America to reinvigorate the brand by making it the best place to work for our employees and improving the experience for our guests,” Adamolekun said in a statement. “I want to thank all of my future colleagues at Red Lobster who have demonstrated extraordinary resilience and dedication to the franchise during the bankruptcy process. Red Lobster’s future is brighter now than ever before – I cannot wait to get started on our investment plan, and to get out and meet diners across the USA and Canada.”
He will become Red Lobster’s sixth CEO since 2021. Kim Lopdrup served as chief executive from 2014-2021, and upon his retirement, the company brought on Kelli Valade. She lasted just eight months in the position before shifting to Denny’s. Valade was quietly replaced by Paul Kenny. Then in the fall of 2023, Red Lobster veteran Horace Dawson was named CEO. He later retired, and then Red Lobster appointed bankruptcy expert Jonathan Tibus as its new leader.
Red Lobster, which filed for bankruptcy this spring, closed 93 locations on May 13. Around 35 more units have shuttered since then, putting it at 544 restaurants across the U.S. and Canada. According to court documents, another 23 stores will close before the end of August.
HOW WE GOT HERE:
Red Lobster to Shut Down 23 More Restaurants
Red Lobster to be Sold to Fortress Investment Group
Inside the Fall of Red Lobster
Red Lobster Goes from Endless Shrimp to Bankruptcy
Red Lobster is Shutting Down At Least 50 Restaurants
Report: Red Lobster Has Struggled to Pay Bills on Time
Red Lobster Considers Filing Bankruptcy
Red Lobster Appoints Restructuring Expert Jonathan Tibus as New CEO
After Poor Sales, Red Lobster Minority Owner Plans Exit
Before becoming P.F. Chang’s CEO, Adamolekun served as the chain’s chief strategy officer and as a partner at Paulson & Co., the principal owner of the Asian sit-down chain. He has also worked in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs and as a private equity associate at TPG Capital.
“We’re excited to bring Damola on board to drive our investment plan for Red Lobster,” Morgan McClure, managing director at Fortress, said in a statement. “Fortress has a strong track record of operating and improving iconic American restaurants, and Damola’s energy, leadership and experience will be key to restoring Red Lobster’s status as an iconic and admired American brand.”
Fortress has extensive experience in the restaurant industry. It owns SPB Hospitality, which operates Logan’s Roadhouse, Old Chicago, Alexander’s, Stoney River, and J. Alexander’s. It also oversees several restaurant-brewery brands, such as Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery and Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, and specialty dining concepts, including ChopHouse & Brewery, Big River Grille & Brewing Works, AIA Ale Works Restaurant & Taproom, Ragtime Tavern Seafood & Grill, and Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery.
Similar to Red Lobster, Fortress acquired these concepts out of bankruptcy in 2020. It also did the same for quick-service concept Krystal, which is now a part of SPB. In July 2024, the restaurant group expanded further by acquiring the Amada and Village Whiskey brands, created and operated by James Beard Award-winning chef Jose Garces.
