All three Red Lobster restaurants in Jacksonville closed abruptly Monday amid widespread speculation that the Orlando-based nationwide seafood restaurant chain was poised to file for bankruptcy protection.

The Jacksonville closures appear to be part of a large-scale shutdown of at least 80 restaurants in 27 states as reported by national and local news media outlets.

Shuttering their doors in Jacksonville were the restaurants at 8720 Baymeadows Road, 416 Commerce Center Drive and 13090 City Station Drive in River City Marketplace.

All three had been open for multiple years, state records indicated.

Red Lobster employees arrived at the Baymeadows Road location Tuesday morning to help clean out the restaurant. David Brown, who has worked there for about 37 years, said his director was informed of the closing Sunday night and the employees were told Monday morning.

"It just came out of the blue," he told Times-Union photographer Bob Self.

Each restaurant was listed as "closed" every day on the Red Lobster corporate website. Telephone calls to each of the three went unanswered. And there was no recorded voicemail message on their phones.

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So far, Red Lobster officials couldn't be reached for comment.

Remaining open in North Florida are the restaurants at 32 Blanding Blvd. across from Orange Park Mall and at 2847 W. U.S. 90 in Lake City, according to the corporate website.

Red Lobster is known for its Lobsterfest as well as Endless Shrimp promotions, steamed crab legs and fish dinners plus complimentary Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

Rough seas for restaurant chain

Founded in March 1968 as a family-owned single restaurant in Lakeland, the restaurant grew into about 700 locations worldwide, according to its corporate website.

Red Lobster has been caught up in rough seas over the years.

In 2003 its "Endless Crab" all-you-can-eat promotion backfired big-time when customers ate more, a lot more, of the tasty sea creatures than the restaurant chain anticipated. That misstep cost Red Lobster a boatload, losing $3.3 million in seven weeks, CNN reported.

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CNN also reported that a similar Red Lobster promotion last year when "Endless Shrimp" became a regular menu item also proved costly. A major Red Lobster shareholder lost $11 million, according to CNN.

On April 16, Bloomberg reported that Red Lobster was considering a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing so it could restructure its debt.

The Jacksonville restaurants were among 16 in Florida listed as closed on the corporate website.

This is a developing story, when available more information will be on Jacksonville.com

Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at tstepzinski@jacksonville.com.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Red Lobster abruptly closes Jacksonville restaurants, several others