Local Red Lobster shuts down

PERKINS TWP. — For the second time in as many weeks, a national chain restaurant with a local presence, operating on Milan Road (U.S. 250), apparently shut down for good. After serving diners on Sunday night, the Sandusky-area Red Lobster in Perkins Township ceased operations on Monday: • When calling the restaurant's main phone line, an automated message notes, "This location is closed. We would like to thank our guests for their loyalty over the years and look forward to serving you at a different location." It appears the closest location to Sandusky still open would be in Elyria. • Google lists this location as "temporarily closed." • Red Lobster's website, on the daily hours of operations page for the Sandusky location, denotes "closed" beside each day of the week. • People could be seen grabbing items from inside the building and loading them up into a truck. Many people, including faithful customers and employees, confirmed and/or referenced the shuttering on social media throughout this past weekend. They also reminisced about good times. "Well, let me tell you: I opened that Red Lobster when it first opened maybe 40 years ago, and I worked there 10 years, and they were the best years of my life. That was back in the (19)80s," Ronda Jacksich wrote on a Facebook post. "The crew we had was amazing. I loved Red Lobster. I'm gonna miss it. It's not good that we have restaurants closing in our town." Like many chains across the nation, Red Lobster faces numerous challenges to stay financially feasible. While numbers and reports vary, as of 2024 and following a bankruptcy filing, Red Lobster's corporate team has shuttered more than 160 locations across the nation, shrinking its footprint from a recent peak of 700 U.S. operational restaurants. It's unknown how many other Red Lobster locations across the country have closed more recently, which would include the Sandusky location. Inc.com published an article in August, listing nearly 20 nationwide Red Lobster locations closing. Just last week, a similar situation occurred at the area's only Outback Steakhouse. Also formerly operating on Milan Road in Perkins Township, this chain locked up its local storefront for good as well.