A giant moving truck full of lobster tanks, giant refrigerators and freezers, industrial ovens, microwaves, coffee makers, bars, patio heaters, tables and chairs and more – all for less than $5,000.
That’s what the winning bidder of the entire contents of the outlet on Hawthorn Boulevard in Torrance, California, paid for the hundreds of items.
On Thursday, the entire contents of 48 of the nearly 100 closed Red Lobster restaurants were sold at auction.
The struggling seafood chain is on the brink of bankruptcy – after its $20 ‘endless shrimp’ deal was so popular it cost the chain millions of dollars. It is closing locations in an effort to limit losses.
On Friday, buyers of the lots were seen collecting the goods in giant vans. What they paid ranged from just under $2,000 to $15,000.
Chairs are being removed from the Red Lobster in Torrance
Patio heaters were among the goods purchased at the Red Lobster in Torrance
In Torrance, outside Los Angeles, winning bidders filled a Budget rental truck with all the stuff from the city’s shuttered Red Lobster — purchased for $4,886.
Meanwhile, buyers paying $10,101 in Columbia, Maryland, filled a U-Haul. They received a similar selection, as well as five old 37-inch TVs.
It wasn’t until Monday evening, after a full day of serving customers, that the staff had any idea what was going on. Many only found out the next day during their shift.
But with brutal efficiency, the stock from 48 of the outlets was all listed on an auction site on Wednesday.
It was online only, with the contents of each outlet being sold as a lot that would likely attract owners of other restaurants rather than customers.
Fans of the chain were able to gain insight into how abruptly restaurants were closed thanks to photos posted online by the auction house.
Some showed leftover food still on the trays and fresh food ready for the next day.
In total, nearly 100 restaurants in 27 states were closed Monday evening.
The auctions of the restaurants’ contents, organized by Restaurant Equipment Bid, took place online on Thursday.
The company, which specializes in selling items from restaurants that are closing and needing to liquidate quickly, released images Wednesday of items up for grabs at some locations.
At no auction was fresh food or alcohol stale. And while lobster tanks were sold, the creatures themselves were not.
At a third Red Lobster in San Diego, dumpster divers were seen collecting items not included in the auction lots.
A U-Haul can is seen outside the now closed Red Lobster in Columbia, Maryland
Red Lobster auction winners clear out kitchen equipment and furniture at the Red Lobster restaurant in Columbia, Maryland
A lobster tank fits in the back of a truck in Maryland
A man collects items from a dumpster in front of a closed Red Lobster restaurant with all its contents up for auction in San Diego, California, U.S., May 15, 2024
A dumpster is shown in front of a closed Red Lobster restaurant with its entire contents up for auction in San Diego, California
The images of items up for grabs in some locations made for fascinating viewing.
The Grand Forks location in North Dakota included an aquarium containing still living lobsters.
Potatoes laid out on trays ready to be cooked, milk in refrigerators and cutlery spread across tables are also seen in images advertising Grand Forks’ contents.
Other recently released images show a fully stocked walk-in refrigerator on the auction page for Council Bluff’s Red Lobster in Iowa.
Fresh lettuce and fruit, as well as packaged sauce and fried bread, suggest the speed with which the restaurants were closed and auction managers were called in.
The struggling chain is eyeing a possible Chapter 11 filing to restructure its debt, which would allow it to reject long-term contracts and renegotiate new leases.
Live lobsters are still in their tanks at the Grand Forks Red Lobster in North Dakota
Potatoes lying on trays ready to be cooked are seen in images advertising Grand Forks contents
The chain, which started as a single restaurant in Lakeland, Florida, in 1968, has approximately 650 locations in nearly every state.
An image released by the auctioneers of the Colonial Heights, Virginia restaurant shows a large refrigerator containing a pineapple, juice and plenty of liquor, including beer and wine.
Other images from Colonial Heights appear to show leftover food on trays, prepared meals in a food warmer and plates waiting to be washed on a rack, likely from the restaurant’s last day of serving on Sunday.