Wednesday, April 9, 2025

CNBC explains 'How Private Equity Is Behind Red Lobster And TGI Fridays' Bankruptcies,' a tale of the Retail Apocalypse for Wayback Wednesday

Happy Wayback Wednesday! I closed Hooters files for bankruptcy, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse by telegraphing today's topic.
A couple of the videos mentioned the bankruptcies of Red Lobster and TGI Fridays. Those were the subjects of two of the most read entries of last year. Expect me to cover them on Wayback Wednesday. Stay tuned.
I begin today's retrospective with How Private Equity Is Behind Red Lobster And TGI Fridays' Bankruptcies.

Between 2014 and 2024, private equity firms invested more than $90 billion into U.S. restaurants and bars. Red Lobster and TGI Fridays were two of the most notable. The two casual dining giants were acquired through a transaction type called a leveraged buyout that ultimately contributed to their bankruptcies in 2024. Watch the video above to learn more about the most commonly used strategies by private equity firms, including sale-leasebacks and roll-ups, to try to turn a company around.
Private equity has been responsible for so many retail and restaurant bankruptcies that I have a standard rant about it: "I listed a who's who of retail chains gutted by private equity in CNN Business explains retail bankruptcies and how private equity is gutting retail, tales of the Retail Apocalypse and again in Business Insider and CNBC explain the rise and fall of Chuck E. Cheese, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse and pandemic." Add Party City, Red Lobster, TGI Fridays, and Joann to that list.

Speaking of lists, one of the biggest surprises was the roster of restaurant chains Roark Capital owns.


I've eaten at a majority of them and I had no idea they were under the same ownership! I know I write that it's a good day when I learn something new, but I wonder if I learned something good from this. I will say I learned something useful, that Roark Capital helped defeat raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hour. That makes me like them even less than their name.
It is named for Howard Roark, the protagonist in Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead. The firm claims that its name is not meant to connote any particular political philosophy but instead signify the firm's admiration for the iconoclastic qualities of independence and self-assurance embodied by the central figure in The Fountainhead.
Longtime readers should know that I have a dim view of Rand and Objectivism; some of my newer readers are learning this, as they've made A conversation with The Archdruid about Objectivism, Satanism, and the GOP from the back catalog the ninth most read entry during the 2024-2025 blogging year. That's a conversation for later.

Based on the continued interest private equity has in restaurant chains, I expect to see more bankruptcies and write more Retail Apocalypse entries about them. Now follow over the jump for the most popular entries about the Retail Apocalypse posted between March 21, 2024 and March 20, 2025.

I shared Company Man asks 'The Decline of TGI Fridays...What Happened?' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse posted November 8, 2024 at the Citizen Connect/Coffee Party Facebook page then driftglass linked to this entry at Crooks and Liars. Thosed helped the entry earn 352 default and 372 raw page views during November 2024, ranking it second by all measures during the month. It continued to gain readers to end the 2024-2025 blogging year with 440 raw page views, ranking it 29th among entries posted last year and 33rd overall.

I shared Company Man asks 'The Decline of Red Lobster...What Happened?' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse from May 18, 2024 at the Coffee Party USA/Citizen Connect Facebook page. It was also among my top Twitter/X shares that month, earning 2 engagements, including 7 replies in 1 thread, on 41 impressions. Its first reply earned 8 engagements, the most during May 2024, including 6 replies on 2 threads, on 37 impressions. Together, they helped it gain 315 default and 332 raw page views by the end of May 2024, ranking it third by all measures that month. The entry continued to attract readers, ending the blogging year with 418 raw page views, ranking it 32nd among entries posted between March 21, 2024 and March 20, 2025, and 36th overall.

Now for an entry I covered in Ig Nobel Prizes for April Fools Day 2025, a holiday special.

The most popular entry about holidays actually posted during the 14th year of this blog was Company Man explains 'Walmart - Why They're Hated' for Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day from November 29, 2024, which earned 614 raw page views to rank ninth among entries posted during the blogging year and 13th overall. It earned 325 default and 327 raw page views during November 2024 from my normal social media sharing augmented by a large-follower account reposting it on Bluesky to rank fourth for the month. It then earned 200 default and 241 raw page views during December 2024 from Infidel753 sharing it at his blog and my sharing the link at the Citizen Connect/Coffee Party Facebook page to rank ninth during December 2024. Among the shares, it earned 527 default and 568 raw page views over two months. I will probably mention it again in an entry about the Retail Apocalypse.
Stay tuned for another retrospective tomorrow on Throwback Thursday. In the meantime, here is Wednesday Addams, the mascot for Wayback Wednesday.


Previous posts in this series Previous retrospectives about the Retail Apocalypse.
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