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Red Lobster Company History (By Bill Darden (1963 (Mainstream Americans…
Red Lobster
Company History
Started in 1968
By Bill Darden
Saw business opportunity
Affordable, top quality sea food
to broad main stream american
consumer base
30 years in Restaurant Business
First Restaurant in 1938
He was 19
50s and 60s he was Franchisee
of Howard Jhonson's
Prominent chain of Family
Restaurants
Mastered craft of operational
efficiency
Preparing and serving
food quickly at low cost
Attractive to mainstream
consumers and affordable rates
1963
Acquired Gary's Duck Inn
Successful Restaurant
High End Sea Food
Location : Orlando
Mainstream Americans
Ate little sea food
Difficult to get
Seafood
Difficult to
cook at home
Expensive
Darden
Great skillset to
Deliver
Unique offering
Top quality seafood
Affordable
1968
First Red Lobster Opened
Lakeland, Florida
It was instant success
Darden had to work in Kitched
to meet the demand
One month into it,
he was forced to expand
In 2 years, opened 4 more
in central florida
For Darden, the key was
it was a success inland
far from coast
1970
Red Lobster was sold to
General Mills
Darden was kept President
1975
Joe Lee became President
He was General Manager
for the first Red Lobster
Chain grew quickly
First casual dining
chain to achieve
national scale
First to advertise on
Network Television
Developed first national
Seafood distribution system in 70s
First national chain
to use computerised
POS systems
1982
1985
400 locations
Introduced to much of America
New types of Seafood such as
Maine Lobster
snow crab
jumbo shrimp
Few non seafood items
such as key lime pie and
white zinfandel wine
were also popularized
1989
Olive Garden
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1990
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Encouraged by strongs earnings
from Red Lobster
General Mills Restaurants Inc.
Subsidiary of General Mills
User Red Lobster
Operations platform
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