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Today, we're dishing on the rise and fall of Red Robin
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Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews is a casual dining restaurant chain that was founded by Jerry Kingan in Seattle, Washington in September of 1969
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In those days, the menu didn't include much in the way of food, and patrons were limited to things like popcorn and wrapped sandwiches
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But all that was about to change. In 1973, Kingan expanded the Red Robin menu to include burgers topped with cheese, bacon, or even a fried egg
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By 1979, Red Robin was raking in the cash. The success didn't go unnoticed, and two of Red Robin's regular customers volunteered to become the restaurant's first franchisees
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These customers were brothers Mike and Steve Snyder, and working together as the Snyder Group, Red Robin would gradually transform into a national chain
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And in 2000, they would officially merge with Red Robin just in time to open the franchise's 150th location
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With their combined powers, the company became unstoppable, opening another hundred locations over the subsequent four years
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Despite all its early success, Red Robin has run into its fair share of difficulties over the years
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many of them self-inflicted. For example, in 2005, CEO Michael Snyder was ousted after accusations of fraud
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and an SEC investigation that ended in a shareholder lawsuit. The disgraced CEO continued to be the company's largest individual shareholder
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until his death by suicide in 2018. In 2015 the restaurant had to pay out million to settle a class action lawsuit that accused them of forcing servers to share their tips with kitchen staff Red Robin obsession
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with combating minimum wage increases also led them to eliminate bussers from the entire chain
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in 2018. At the time, the company bragged the move was going to save them $8 million
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but in practice, the lack of bussers just slowed down service. Instead of a fatter bottom line
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Red Robin saw a steep drop-off in customer satisfaction and repeat business
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And upsetting customers is apparently something of a tradition at Red Robin
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Way back in 2013, for example, the company put out a commercial for its Garden Burger
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that implied vegetarianism was just a phase people would eventually outgrow. In 2018, the once-successful chain reported a nearly $11 million loss
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To make up for it, Red Robin tried to appeal to consumers' wallets with their Tavern Double Menu
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which featured burgers priced at $6.99 instead of the usual $9. Unfortunately, that meal deal became a little too popular
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so many people started opting for burgers off the tavern double menu
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the average check price plummeted, which hurt the restaurant's bottom line even more
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Of course, as it did many in the food service industry, the COVID pandemic hit Red Robin pretty hard
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And a subsequent decline in the general popularity of casual dining chains only made matters worse
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Around that time, the company announced a halt on future growth, and soon thereafter they started shuttering locations
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The original Red Robin location in Seattle closed down in 2010. But Red Robin is still out there slinging burgers, and there are no signs that they're going to stop anytime soon
