In 2003, the seafood chain Red Lobster, which was founded in 1968 in Florida, launched an all-you-can-eat campaign, the “Endless Crab Special”. The company's then-CEO, with previous experience in the steak restaurant industry, believed they could transfer the all-you-can-eat culture to seafood.
For $20 (later increased to $25), customers at 700 stores around the US, could consume as many crab legs as they desired, along with a series of side dishes. Red Lobster’s executives, overseeing about 700 stores, believed customers wouldn't be able to eat more than three plates (which would be the break-even point), but they were soon proven wrong.
For crab enthusiasts and not only, this campaign was a godsend. They would stay for hours in a Red Lobster, ordering one plate of crab legs after another. Their prolonged stays in the store, due to the time-consuming process of processing and eating crab legs, resulted in insufficient turnover in the chain's stores.
Meanwhile, the price of crab increased due to state legislation limiting fishing. Soon, the popular seafood chain would accumulate losses. As a result the seven-week campaign costing them $3.3 million (about half a million per week).
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