4 Hudson Valley Red Lobster Restaurants Abruptly Closed

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Red Lobster restaurants in four Hudson Valley locations are listed as "closed," on the Orlando-based company's website, with at least 48 of its locations across the country suddenly shutting down for business, according to multiple media reports.

The closures took place on Monday with several restaurant employees throughout the country posting on social media that they were given no notice.

The restaurants that suddenly closed in the Hudson Valley are:

• Scarsdale
• Nanuet
• Kingston
• Poughkeepsie

As of Tuesday morning, the Yonkers and Middletown locations are still listed as open for business.

The Red Lobster website indicates that 18 restaurants remain open statewide, but one location in Long Island (Stony Brook) and five locations upstate (Buffalo, Amherst, Lakewood, Williamsville and Rochester) have closed.

According to TAGeX, the entire contents of several of the closed locations, including the Kingston, Amherst and Rochester restaurants, are being auctioned off this week in "the largest restaurant equipment auction ever."

In April of this year, the chain with nearly 700 restaurants worldwide reported that it was considering bankruptcy after suffering a significant loss from its endless shrimp promotion, which proved to be more popular than the company anticipated.

While Thai Union became a key stakeholder in Red Lobster four years ago, in January of this year, Thai Union announced it would be exiting its investment, thus taking a $530 million loss.

The company was opened by Bill Darden in 1968, with its first location in Lakeland, FL.