Wkly Hit List has been away for over a month, and now after celebrating the 10th Anniversary of this blog, the Wkly Hit List is BACK! First lemme just say that it's great to be back writing on this site again. I have a lot of plans in the future in hopes of making the KlicKNet brand grow even more; we've already done so by brining over 600 viewers to watch LIVE weekend coverage of D23 through FakeTV Box. This month, we'll be celebrating KlicKNet's fourth year on YouTube by also celebrating the 150th Episode of FakeTV Box very soon. Another reason to celebrate is the return of the 5-Day Rounder which has been away for most – if not all – of the summer, so prepare to see what news article made the cut this time.
While the Wkly Hit List was away for the whole month of August, there were a lot of announcements made in the Theme Park Industry. We all know the new projects coming to Disney Parks around the world, but several Amusement Parks in North America have followed the same the trend. One park in particular is Kings Dominion located in Doswell, Virginia, and since last year they have been constructing a new roller coaster that will replace the park's famous Volcano Blast Coaster which was opened for over twenty years from 1998–2018. Beginning in 2023 last year, construction of Volcano's replacement kicked in to high gear, and strangely enough, the final piece of track for this new coaster was placed yesterday. The name of said coaster is "Rapterra" and it's mean to be world's tallest and longest-launched wing roller coaster. Take a good look at this bad one in our newest Sneak Peek of the Week.
Our first Inside Scoop in over a month is a story that I promise you has a happy ending. Months back, the seafood restaurant chain Reb Lobster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, highlighting leases and labor costs among the issues. The company however has been able to manage itself during the bankruptcy procedure and he operating normally, all while discussing possible bankruptcy debt reduction plans with its creditors. Last May, Red Lobster abruptly closed over 100 restaurants in 28 states, including all of its Buffalo-area locations and most of its Orlando-area locations, they also announced that their Canadian operations would also be declaring bankruptcy by no later than May 28, and from there they have close some their underperforming locations in Canada. Learning all this myself, I'm surprised that Canadians are even into American seafood, they try to pass their Canadian Bacon off as being the same as American Bacon, but really it just looks like sliced ham, which still tastes pretty good.
On June 6, Red Lobster announced that if their bankruptcy plan ends up getting approved, then up to 129 additional locations would be permanently shut down, including their premier restaurant at Times Square in Manhattan, though as of right now that place is still open. Interesting enough, the company hired hip hop rapper Flavor Flav as the new spokesperson of Red Lobster commercials, after he previously ordered the entire Red Lobster menu in order to save the company. In his first commercial, he would announce that CrabFest would be returning to restaurants nationwide, you know when I said earlier that the company has been able to manage itself during the bankruptcy, this was not what I was referring to. Of all of the singers to chose from, they picked someone with a long history of bad behavior and legal arrests, I guess it's a match made in heaven because Red Lobster and Flavor Flav have a lot in common than some people know, they've both hit rock bottom and now they're trying to pick themselves up.
Anyway, Red Lobster has been trying to survive bankruptcy all summer, they closed down 23 additional restaurants and hired Damola Adamolekun as the company's new CEO, replacing Jonathan Tibus who hired back in March. Then an article from USA Today reported that: "Red Lobster is exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a federal judge [on Thursday] approved the seafood restaurant chain's plan to rebound from an "endless shrimp" fiasco, massive debt, dozens of location closures and an overall decline in guests." Furthermore, the company will be acquired before the end of the month by RL Investor Holdings, a private group of investors. This group consists of funds managed by Fortress Investment Group, a Wall Street investment firm co-founded by the Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Wesley Edens, along with other organizations such as TCW Private Credit and Blue Torch, of course Fortress seems to have the most stroke in all of this as according to USA Today: "Red Lobster is Fortress' most recent acquisition of a company that has filed for bankruptcy, following the purchases of Vice Media and the Alamo Drafthouse, which has since been sold to Sony Pictures Entertainment."
Fortress also controls a company called SPB Hospitality, which owns brands such as Logan's Roadhouse, Krystal, Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom and Twisted Tenders, so it looks like they are no strangers to the restaurant industry. Once the acquisition is complete, Damola Adamolekun will officially become the CEO of the Red Lobster restaurant chain which will continue to operate as an independent company and maintain over 544 locations across 44 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. Adamolekun said in a statement that: "This is a great day for Red Lobster, with our new backers, we have a comprehensive and long-term investment plan – including a commitment of more than $60 million in new funding – that will help to reinvigorate the iconic brand while keeping the best of its history. Red Lobster has a tremendous future, and I cannot wait to get started on our plan with the company's more than 30,000 team members across the USA and Canada." Who knows, the KlicKNet team and I might pay a Times Square Red Lobster restaurant a visit to celebrate their survival of bankruptcy, but on the other hand I hope that this was a teachable moment for the company as they try to fix their mistakes and continue to give people the best food services for years to come.
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