Red Lobster CEO plans to make chain ‘the most AI-forward restaurant company that exists’

Source Domain: eciks.org

Red Lobster CEO Damola Adamolekun plans to make the seafood chain “the most AI-forward restaurant company that exists,” leveraging artificial intelligence across forecasting, scheduling, and operations as the chain continues its recovery from 2024 bankruptcy.

Speaking on The Black Money Tree Podcast, the 37-year-old CEO outlined an aggressive strategy to embed AI into nearly every function of the business. “AI is changing the game in a tremendous way,” Adamolekun said. “You have to engage with it rather than ignore it.” Red Lobster will use AI for sales forecasting, employee scheduling, inventory management, and generating executive reports—a comprehensive approach that sets the chain apart from competitors.

Adamolekun, who took the helm in August 2024 after Red Lobster emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2024, has already begun implementing these systems. Chief Operating Officer Larry Konecny designed a process using AI to compile relevant restaurant metrics into reports before visiting individual locations, eliminating manual data compilation. When Konecny arrives at a restaurant, he has critical performance data without requiring his team to build presentations by hand.

Red Lobster emerged from bankruptcy with roughly 544 locations and $60 million in fresh funding from Fortress Investment Group. The company’s AI strategy reflects a calculated bet that technology can drive profitability as it navigates a competitive casual-dining market. Adamolekun personally uses Claude AI for coding assistance and presentation creation, and he’s encouraging each department to develop their own AI use cases. “Everybody’s got ideas if you give them the empowerment to come up with them,” he said. “So, I’m letting each department come up with their own ideas, and I’m just encouraging it and letting them do it.”

Red Lobster’s push into AI adoption mirrors a broader industry shift. According to the National Restaurant…

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