ORLANDO, June 11 — Red Lobster CEO is pushing to make the seafood chain the most AI-forward restaurant company, as the business continues to rebuild after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2024.
The CEO, who previously served as CEO of P.F. Chang’s and helped drive the company to more than $1 billion in annual revenue, is driving innovation to help the company recover from its financial troubles.
The CEO’s plans for AI integration are ambitious, with a focus on using the technology to improve operations and customer experience. He told host Jerome D.
Love that his COO was like, ‘What if when I went to a restaurant, I could have AI pull all the relevant metrics of that restaurant, laid it out for me in a deck, and when I walk in, I’ve got everything I need right there versus having my team do it.’ The CEO is encouraging each department to come up with their own ideas for AI implementation, giving them the freedom to innovate and improve their work.
He said, “There’s a lot of ‘everybody’s got ideas’ if you give them the empowerment to come up with them. So, I’m letting each department come up with their own ideas, and I’m just encouraging it and letting them do it,” and “AI is intelligent enough to do that for us and learn from the past and learn going forward and be more accurate.
So, we’ll roll that out and help people be better at their jobs.” Red Lobster’s push towards innovation comes as the company is streamlining its footprint following financial troubles.
Earlier this month, the company announced plans to close its flagship Times Square restaurant after 23 years, citing prolonged construction that reduced visibility and foot traffic, as well as the building’s planned conversion into residential housing. The use of AI is seen as a key factor in Red Lobster’s recovery, as the CEO said, “AI is important.
I know a lot of people are scared of it or don’t want to deal with it, but you have to.
It’s changing the game in a tremendous way … I’m trying to be the most AI-forward restaurant company that exists,” Looking ahead, it will be important to watch how Red Lobster’s AI integration plans unfold and how they impact the company’s performance. With the CEO at the helm, the company is poised to make significant changes and improvements, which could have a major impact on its future success. As the seafood chain continues to rebuild and innovate, it will be interesting to see how its use of AI helps to drive its recovery and growth.
