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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016
PARTING SHOT FROM KYLE SPURR
A weekly snapshot from The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer photographers
A humpback whale washed ashore at Seaside in January.
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Associated Press
‘Lobsterfest’
NEW YORK — Red Lobster says it’s feel-
ing the “Beyonce Bounce.”
The seafood chain known for its cheddar bis-
cuits says sales surged 33 percent on Sunday,
compared with last year’s Super Bowl Sunday.
The increase came after the release of “Forma-
tion,” in which Beyonce says she took a man to
Red Lobster after sex. It’s hard to imagine hordes
of people rushing to Red Lobster after hearing
the song, but the chain says it’s sure the mention
is responsible for at least part of its sales jump.
Other factors also likely helped. Red Lob-
ster notes this year’s winter wasn’t as harsh,
meaning people were likely more willing to
head out to restaurants. And the chain is run-
ning a “Lobsterfest” promotion that it didn’t
last year.
The pop culture spotlight from Beyonce is
nevertheless a welcome change for Red Lob-
ster, which was sold by Darden Restaurants in
July of 2014 after it suffered ongoing declines
in sales. The chain, which is now privately held
by investment ¿rm *olden *ate &apital, says
it has posted sales gains every quarter since the
separation.
And after the mention by Beyonce, it says
it was also a trending topic on Twitter for the
¿rst time.
“It’s clear that Beyonce has helped create
some Red Lobster fans, and we are very grate-
ful to her for that,” Red Lobster &EO Kim Lop-
drup said in a statement.
Erica Ettori, a Red Lobster representative,
said she could not “con¿rm or deny” whether
the chain has reached out to superstar, but noted
that things were “moving fast.”
Red Lobster enjoys
sales surge after mention
in Beyonce song
‘Cheddar Bey Biscuits’
Regardless, the chain is already trying to
make the most of its moment, noting that lob-
ster is considered a romantic food. The chain
also tweeted that, “&heddar Bey Biscuits” has a
nice ring to it, don’t you think?” The tweet had
more than 14,000 retweets as of Tuesday after-
noon, but some mocked Red Lobster for taking
several hours to respond, only to come up with
something they deemed underwhelming.
Red Lobster, based in Orlando, Florida,
has more than 700 locations in the U.S. and
&anada.
James A. Finley/AP Photo
A Red Lobster restaurant as seen in Fairview Heights,
Ill., in 2005. Red Lobster said in a statement that its sales
surged after Beyonce mentioned the chain in a “Forma-
tion” lyric.
Matt Slocum/AP Photo
Beyonce performed during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 50 football game in Santa Clara, Calif.
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