Dozens of Red Lobster restaurants around the U.S. are facing closure as the chain’s owner is dealing with financial problems, and a Rochester-based company is helping with the liquidation process.
The company is TAGeX Brands, and they provide facility and equipment services including liquidation in the restaurant business. Its founder and CEO is a Geneva, NY native, Neal Sherman, who said that his firm is working with about 50 of the Red Lobster restaurants that have closed including the one on Jefferson Road in Henrietta.
TAGeX will help the restaurants that are closing sell their equipment in an online auction.
Sherman said that he has empathy for any restaurant workers who are being impacted, but at least in that business, there seems to be a fair number of job openings right now.
“The benefit of being in the food industry is that there's an endless demand for really quality people, noted Sherman, “so the same day we closed locations, the other brands, the Applebee's, the Denny’s, the IHOPS, they were across the street, recruiting people who had lost their positions.”
Sherman said the online auction this week has already attracted a lot of interest.
“We're very fortunate that we have tens of thousands of restaurant operators around the country who want value; equipment like this especially made of stainless (steel), it's going to be here long after we're gone, and (they) can access equipment at deeply discounted prices that they normally wouldn't be able to buy new,” said Sherman.
While the Red Lobster in Henrietta has closed, the location in the town of Greece remains open.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Red Lobster is preparing to file a chapter 11 bankruptcy petition as early as next week.
