Red Lobster, a popular American seafood chain, has abruptly closed approximately 100 locations around the United States. “As of Tuesday, 90 locations in 27 states were listed as ‘closed’ on the restaurant’s website,” The Hill reports. According to reports, locations in Florida, Iowa, Illinois, and New York suddenly shuttered this week. The company is preparing to file for bankruptcy due to rising costs. WATCH: Biden’s Build Back Better. Red Lobster abruptly closes at least 50 restaurants, including 14 in NY and NJ. 56 year old restaurant chain considers filing for bankruptcy due to rising costs. Yet, Democrats want you to think that Biden is doing a great job! pic.twitter.com/IdQHNFBsOI — I Meme Therefore I Am (@ImMeme0) May 14, 2024 The Hill reports: “I was just notified by one of our local Red Lobster managers that after 31 years of serving our community, without notice, their parent company laid off the entire crew and closed the restaurant effective immediately,” Danville, Illinois Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. wrote in a Facebook post. “This is despite the fact that they were rated number 15 out of over 600 stores for customer service & satisfaction last year.” The beleaguered seafood chain will be auctioning off the contents of 48 locations, according to a TAGeX brands, a restaurant supply liquidator. It’s not clear if there are any plans to reopen the restaurants not listed. Nexstar reached out to Red Lobster for more information about the closures but didn’t receive a response as of publishing time. Red Lobster owner Thai Union Group announced in January 2024 that it was looking to sell its stake in the brand, citing the impact of a “combination of [the] COVID-19 pandemic, sustained industry headwinds, higher interest rates and rising material and labor costs” on profits. #Bidenomics. https://t.co/CcnjH1pnay — Carol RN *Miss Rush & the Gipper* (@pasqueflower19) May 14, 2024 “Red Lobster has abruptly closed at least 99 locations across the country with restaurants shutting their doors in at least 27 states,” ABC News noted. #BREAKING: Red Lobster, the largest U.S. seafood restaurant chain known for its seafood and famous cheesy biscuits are getting ready to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy as early as next week after suddenly closing dozens of restaurants. pic.twitter.com/vgl260108j — R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) May 15, 2024 Per ABC News: The popular seafood restaurant chain began eyeing Chapter 11 to consolidate debts last month. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the company is now expected to file for bankruptcy “as early as next week,” according to people familiar with the matter. The decision comes just months after a major investor blamed Red Lobster’s fumbled “Ultimate Endless Shrimp” promotion for costing the restaurant chain millions in losses. During an earnings call last year, Red Lobster’s former Thailand-based investor, Thai Union Group, shared that the menu promotion contributed to its more than $11 million third quarter operating loss. Ludovic Garnier, Chief Financial Officer for Thai Union Group, told ABC News this week, “Something which was different from our expectation is the proportion of the people selecting this promotion was much higher compared to expectation.”