BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — All four Red Lobster locations in Western New York all had the same sign taped to their doors on Monday reading "this location is closed" — in what appears to be a nationwide occurrence.
Ramon Garcia told 7 News he found out he lost his job at the Red Lobster location in Hamburg not from corporate... but from the cook.
"I'm getting calls after calls this morning and my boy Don called me and he's like, 'You should come in right now.' I'm like, 'Why, I'm off today,' and he's like, 'Man, you just need to come in because there's a lot of stuff going on,'" Garcia said.
Garcia said corporate did tell them they have three days to clean out the restaurant.
According to recent reporting by Bloomberg, the seafood chain has been considering filing for bankruptcy due to rising costs.
"I didn't know we were going bankrupt, but I kind of knew, if you know what I'm saying," Garcia said. "They were cutting back on a lot of stuff."
Red Lobster locations in Hamburg, Amherst, Williamsville and Lakewood are now labeled as "Temporarily Closed" on Google.
The Denny's near the Amherst location left a sign for Red Lobster employees to join their team across the street.
"This happened out of nowhere. All the people that we work with, they're losing their jobs and not knowing what to expect after that," Garcia said. "It's taking a toll on them."
7 News has reached out to Red Lobster's corporate team but has yet to hear back.
