AMHERST, N.Y. — Every single Red Lobster location in Western New York closed all at once, now the Amherst location is up for auction. Are there any left nearby? And what about unused gift cards?
WATCH: 'Happened out of nowhere': Western New York Red Lobster employees left in the dark after closures
In Amherst, everything from the ovens to the Red Lobster signs out front will be given to the highest bidder, because the entire contents of the recently closed restaurant is up for auction.
At around 3 p.m. Tuesday, and with just under two days remaining on the auction, the highest bid on the entire restaurant’s valuables was just $2,350.
What exactly happened to Red Lobster to reach such a low point?
“Factor in poor management decisions, the inflationary environment and rising wages, it just creates the perfect storm,” Associate Professor of Marketing, UB School of Management Charles Lindsey said.
Professor Lindsey studies consumer trends and marketing, and he feels these mass closings of Red Lobsters across the country were bound to happen because of three major things.
- Rising competition in restaurant space
- Mismanagement of certain promotions
- Rising costs in the industry
“You put all three of those together and wow,” Lindsey said. “It may not be the end of Red Lobster in the news. I could see ultimately a chapter 11 (bankruptcy) filing. I could also see a second wave, perhaps or even a third wave, of store or units being closed.”
As for the rest of us sitting on unused Red Lobster gift cards, Katarina Schmieder with the Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York feels it’s time to start asking for a refund.
“Contact the company or their headquarters to see what their plan is for issuing refunds and if they have one,” Communications Director Schmieder said. “I know this happened very abruptly. If you’re unable to get a refund, you’re more than welcome to file a complaint on BBB.org.”
The locations in Hamburg, Amherst, and Williamsville are all currently closed, but not all Cheddar Bay Biscuits are lost, because there is still a Red Lobster location open in Niagara Falls, Canada.
So, if you can’t get a gift card refund, you might just need to leave the country to spend it.
A representative within the corporate office tells 7 News “We are not issuing any statements related to store closures.”
