Red Lobster is poised for a major comeback under new leadership.

In May, according to CNBC, Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy protection due to a “difficult macroeconomic environment, a bloated and underperforming restaurant footprint, failed or ill-advised strategic initiatives, and increased competition.”

Fast forward four months later, and new leadership has allowed Red Lobster to exit its bankruptcy. It has been acquired by RL Investor Holdings LLC per Chain Store Age.

So, who will be leading this chapter with Red Lobster and its 545 locations? Damola Adamolekun, a 35-year-old Nigerian native, has been named Red Lobster’s new CEO. This follows Adamolekun’s latest role as an operating partner at Garnett Station Partners, whose portfolio includes Primanti Bros and Checkers. Before that, he served as CEO of P.F. Chang’s.

“Red Lobster is now a stronger, more resilient company, and today is the start of a new chapter in our history,” Adamolekun said, per Chain Store Age. “I’ve been a Red Lobster fan since my first dining experience as a 9-year-old at our Springfield, Ill. restaurant – and as I’ve prepared to step into the role of CEO, I’ve met hundreds of diners across the country who, just like me, are as passionate about Red Lobster now as they were on their first visit.”

After learning the news that Red Lobster is here to stay, many people on X (formerly known as Twitter) are crediting rapper Flavor Flav with helping to save the beloved seafood restaurant.

“Flavor Flav single handedly saved Red Lobster,” one person tweeted.

“no one is doing it like @FlavorFlav … paying olympians’ rent and saving red lobster,” another person wrote

Back in June, Flavor Flav visited Red Lobster, ordering the entire menu. He tweeted an image of himself standing behind a table full of food, which led to a special menu being named in his honor, according to Vulture.

When Red Lobster initially filed for bankruptcy, they quickly shut down over 90 restaurants and even auctioned off equipment, according to Chain Store Age. Now, Red Lobster is “an independent, privately owned company” with over 500 locations across 44 states.

“As part of our new ownership structure, we have backers who have a history of making successful investments in restaurants,” Adamolekun said. “Our comprehensive and long-term investment plan for Red Lobster includes a commitment of more than $60 million in new funding which will help us to deliver improvements across every aspect of our company. I’m looking forward to working with our 30,000-strong team to bring our plan to life.”

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