INTERVIEW: Damola Adamolekun On Being The CEO Of 'Red Lobster' Saving Company From Bankruptcy, PF Chang's +More

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Breakfast Club – Interview with Damola Adamolekun on Saving Red Lobster from Bankruptcy

Episode Overview

In this compelling episode of The Breakfast Club, hosted by DJ Envy and Charlamagne Tha God, Damola Adamolekun (referred to as Charlamagne Tha God in the transcript), the CEO of Red Lobster, shares his inspiring journey from leading PF Chang's through turbulent times to rescuing Red Lobster from the brink of bankruptcy. Released on February 21, 2025, this episode delves deep into his strategic decisions, leadership philosophies, and plans to rejuvenate an iconic American seafood restaurant chain.

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Early Career and Transition to the Restaurant Industry

Charlamagne opens up about his unconventional path to becoming a CEO in the restaurant industry. Starting with an internship at Goldman Sachs at 19, he built a robust career in finance, working at prestigious institutions like TPG and Paulson & Co. His transition into the restaurant business began with a pivotal deal in 2019 when he spearheaded the acquisition of PF Chang's.

Charlamagne Tha God [03:43]: “I led the deal to buy PF Chang's because I saw an opportunity to rejuvenate a great brand with strong potential.”

Despite the promising acquisition, the onset of COVID-19 in 2020 posed significant challenges, threatening the success of his venture. Charlamagne candidly discusses the hardships faced and his proactive steps to steer PF Chang's through the crisis.

Charlamagne Tha God [04:54]: “COVID hit hard, and it looked like a bad deal. As the one responsible, I had to step in and save it.”

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Stepping Up as CEO of Red Lobster

After successfully navigating PF Chang's through its difficulties, Charlamagne was approached by Fortress Group, a key creditor, to take the helm at Red Lobster following its bankruptcy. Embracing this opportunity, he outlines his vision and the strategic changes implemented to revitalize the brand.

Charlamagne Tha God [10:10]: “Red Lobster is an iconic brand with deep roots in American culture. Saving it is not just a business move but a commitment to thousands of employees and countless memories.”

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Strategic Initiatives at Red Lobster

Red Carpet Hospitality

One of Charlamagne's primary initiatives is the introduction of "Red Carpet Hospitality," a program designed to elevate customer service through comprehensive training and behavioral guidelines. This approach focuses on recognizing, engaging, and delighting every guest to reinstate Red Lobster’s reputation for exceptional service.

Charlamagne Tha God [14:30]: “Red Carpet Hospitality is about recognizing our guests immediately, ensuring they feel welcomed, and delighting them with every interaction.”

Menu Revitalization and Quality Assurance

Maintaining the high quality of Red Lobster’s seafood is paramount. Charlamagne emphasizes that Red Lobster sources a significant portion of North America's wild-caught lobster and crab, ensuring top-notch quality that rivals any specialty restaurant.

Charlamagne Tha God [14:41]: “We buy a quarter of the lobster and crab caught in North America, ensuring our products are unmatched in quality.”

Additionally, he discusses introducing innovative menu items like lobster rolls and lobster pappardelle to enhance the dining experience.

Charlamagne Tha God [28:09]: “Our new lobster pappardelle, introduced in November, is a testament to our commitment to offering unique and high-quality dishes.”

Ambiance and Remodeling Plans

Acknowledging that some Red Lobster locations have an outdated appearance, Charlamagne outlines plans for a comprehensive remodel to create a more modern and inviting atmosphere. While large-scale remodeling is time-consuming and costly, immediate improvements such as better music selections and table enhancements are being implemented.

Charlamagne Tha God [15:13]: “We’re working on remodeling our restaurants to create a cooler and more modern look, similar to the transformation we achieved at PF Chang's.”

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Marketing and Cultural Engagement

Charlamagne highlights the importance of leveraging cultural moments and partnerships to rejuvenate Red Lobster’s image. Collaborations with celebrities like Snoop Dogg for promotional events and the introduction of happy hours aim to attract a broader and younger audience.

Charlamagne Tha God [29:13]: “Partnering with cultural icons like Snoop Dogg helps us stay relevant and engage with a diverse customer base.”

He also addresses the challenge of maintaining Red Lobster's nostalgic appeal while attracting new customers, emphasizing the balance between honoring the past and embracing innovation.

Charlamagne Tha God [22:52]: “We want to honor the great memories people have at Red Lobster while also creating new experiences that draw them back.”

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Franchise Model vs. Corporate Ownership

Discussing operational strategies, Charlamagne explains the benefits of maintaining corporate ownership over franchises. This approach allows for tighter control over restaurant standards and easier implementation of new initiatives like Red Carpet Hospitality.

Charlamagne Tha God [20:48]: “Owning and operating our restaurants allows us to implement changes swiftly and maintain consistent quality across all locations.”

He acknowledges the trade-offs with franchising, such as increased management complexity and variable quality, reinforcing his commitment to a wholly corporate-owned model in the U.S.

Charlamagne Tha God [20:07]: “With a corporate model, we can ensure every restaurant adheres to our high standards, whereas franchising introduces variability.”

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Community Engagement and Support for HBCUs

Red Lobster’s long-standing relationship with the Black American community is a focal point of Charlamagne’s leadership. He details initiatives like sponsoring HBCU events and providing scholarships, reinforcing the brand’s commitment to diversity and community support.

Charlamagne Tha God [47:57]: “Red Lobster has always valued its relationship with the Black American community. We’re continuing this legacy by supporting HBCUs through scholarships and event sponsorships.”

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Overcoming Challenges as a Young Black CEO

Charlamagne candidly discusses the challenges of being a young Black CEO in a predominantly white industry. He emphasizes earning respect through consistent performance, professionalism, and dedication to excellence.

Charlamagne Tha God [41:09]: “The best way to earn respect is by being a person worthy of it—through hard work, discipline, and excellence in every endeavor.”

He shares personal anecdotes about his upbringing in Nigeria, his parents’ emphasis on academic excellence, and how these experiences shaped his resilient and ambitious nature.

Charlamagne Tha God [43:58]: “My parents always encouraged me to excel at whatever I chose to do. This mindset has been fundamental in overcoming challenges and leading effectively.”

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Future Vision and Closing Thoughts

As the interview wraps up, Charlamagne reiterates his commitment to transforming Red Lobster into a modern, culturally relevant brand while preserving its beloved traditions. He invites listeners to experience the changes firsthand and contribute feedback to continuously improve the customer experience.

Charlamagne Tha God [49:13]: “Visit your local Red Lobster, provide feedback, and help us keep improving. We’re dedicated to making Red Lobster a place where great memories are made.”

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Charlamagne Tha God [03:43]: “I led the deal to buy PF Chang's because I saw an opportunity to rejuvenate a great brand with strong potential.”

• Charlamagne Tha God [04:54]: “COVID hit hard, and it looked like a bad deal. As the one responsible, I had to step in and save it.”

• Charlamagne Tha God [10:10]: “Red Lobster is an iconic brand with deep roots in American culture. Saving it is not just a business move but a commitment to thousands of employees and countless memories.”

• Charlamagne Tha God [14:30]: “Red Carpet Hospitality is about recognizing our guests immediately, ensuring they feel welcomed, and delighting them with every interaction.”

• Charlamagne Tha God [20:48]: “Owning and operating our restaurants allows us to implement changes swiftly and maintain consistent quality across all locations.”

• Charlamagne Tha God [41:09]: “The best way to earn respect is by being a person worthy of it—through hard work, discipline, and excellence in every endeavor.”

• Charlamagne Tha God [47:57]: “Red Lobster has always valued its relationship with the Black American community. We’re continuing this legacy by supporting HBCUs through scholarships and event sponsorships.”

• Charlamagne Tha God [49:13]: “Visit your local Red Lobster, provide feedback, and help us keep improving. We’re dedicated to making Red Lobster a place where great memories are made.”

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Conclusion

Damola Adamolekun's interview on The Breakfast Club offers an insightful look into the challenges and triumphs of leading a historic restaurant brand through modernization and adversity. His strategic vision for Red Lobster balances honoring its rich legacy with innovative approaches to service, menu offerings, and community engagement, positioning the brand for sustainable success in a dynamic market.

Transcript

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[Carlos Miller]

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[Charlamagne Tha God]

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[Carlos Miller]

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[Charlamagne Tha God]

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[Just Hilarious]

Up early in the morning.

[Carlos Miller]

The Breakfast Club.

[Demola Olakin]

Morning everybody.

[DJ Envy]

It's DJ Envy.

[Demola Olakin]

Just hilarious. Charlemagne, the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. We got a special guest in the building.

[Just Hilarious]

I see you waiting to get your ass kicked. Let's go. Let's go.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

CEO of Red Lobster.

[Just Hilarious]

Okay, what else? Let's go. Let's go. Demola. Okay, here come the punch.

[DJ Envy]

Adam Alokin.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hey, that was good. That was good.

[Just Hilarious]

What? Did he get it?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That was an 8 out of 10, man. You almost got it. Almost got it. How do you pronounce the last name? Adam Olakin. Adam, you were very close, man. That's. That's a good. That's a good effort. How are you doing?

[Demola Olakin]

Can we give our brother a water, Please?

[Carlos Miller]

Please.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You want another one?

[Demola Olakin]

Regular water.

[Unknown]

He gave you a biscuit.

[Just Hilarious]

Get a water, Big Mac. He got a mouthful of cheddar cheese. Biscuits. You know, it's crazy, Demola. We interview a lot of people, and people always ask, you know, who do you want to interview? And I never know the answer. But then I see certain people on the schedule, and I'm like, damn, I would like to talk to this guy. And when I saw your name on the schedule, I was like, CEO of Red Lobster.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Just Hilarious]

Yes, I'd like to talk to him.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, you guys. You guys are doing amazing things. It's going to be on you.

[Demola Olakin]

Well, let's start from the beginning. How did you get into food? Because you just weren't the CEO of Red Lobster. You were CEO of PF Chang. So how did you get your start into this restaurant business?

[Just Hilarious]

You're only 36.

[Unknown]

Yeah, I was going to say you look young.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, look, I. I mean, really, I started by waiting tables when I was young, when I was in high school.

[Demola Olakin]

And you're from.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm from. I'm Nigerian originally, but I went to high school in Maryland.

[Demola Olakin]

Okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. You know, doing the. The waiter slash runner thing in high school. But in this current track, you know, I started working in finance when I was in college. So I started interning at Goldman Sachs when I was 19. So 17 years ago.

[Just Hilarious]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I got my first internship at Goldman. I was at Brown playing football and worked at Goldman for four years, and then worked at a private equity firm called TPG and then went to business school and then worked at a hedge fund here in New York. The reason I got into restaurants, because I did a restaurant deal. We bought PF Changs in 2019. Who was we? I worked for John Paulson, who's a famous billionaire investor in New York. His firm is called Paulson and Company. So I was working at a hedge fund. And we do a lot of things. The hedge fund's big. It's, you know, billions of dollars, and we do a lot of different things. But one of the things that we did that I suggested was to buy PF Changs. It was up for sale, so I. I Pitched it to the firm. They agreed, but it was. I led the deal. This is 2019 now. So it was up for sale. You know, I thought it was an interesting thing. Good brand, great. Great history, great product. I thought we could do a lot of new things with it. We could add delivery. We could remodel the restaurants. We could. We could make it more interesting, make it. Make it more relevant. Cool. And it was all going pretty well. And then Covet hit right in 2020.

[Demola Olakin]

Right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So my big restaurant deal, you know, we put hundreds of millions of dollars into it, and it went south during COVID like. Like everything else did. All the restaurants were closed so much.

[Demola Olakin]

Just curious, how much was PF Chang selling for back then?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know, we never released it, but there's an article that quotes something around 700 million. It's in the. In the ballpark.

[Demola Olakin]

Okay.

[Just Hilarious]

They didn't make their money back, clearly, though.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, we did. But that's the thing. I had to go save it. So in Covid, it looked. It looked like. It looked like we weren't gonna. It looked like a bad deal, and it was my deal. So, you know, that's. That's on me. Right. So it wasn't looking good. We lost a CEO during COVID and I had to go step in to sort of rescue the situation. Now, the year before that, I was chief strategy officer, so I'd been there every week. I was flying to Scottsdale, where the company is headquartered. I was flying back to New York, so I was running the company kind of as chief strategy officer. And then I was at the hedge fund. And then when Covid happened, we lost the CEO. They asked me to be CEO. So that's when I stepped in again, because it's my deal. I'm responsible for the outcome, Right. So I went in there to try to salvage things and get us through Covid, which we did. And then. Then we grew from there. We ended up. Ended up being a really good deal, but not without a lot of, you know, blood, sweat, and tears for a few years and getting through it. So that was that. That ended up well.

[Demola Olakin]

So you took the salt and pepper prawns off the menu.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That was not me.

[Demola Olakin]

Oh, that wasn't you? I was making sure. All right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I was going by then.

[Demola Olakin]

Okay.

[Just Hilarious]

I got so many questions, man.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Number one, you guys want to talk about.

[Just Hilarious]

You got to. You said you started at 19 doing what you was.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I got my first internship at Goldman Sachs. Who put. Investment bank.

[Just Hilarious]

Who puts those seeds in your mind at such a young age to Say, this is what I want to do at 19 years old. It's.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's a good. It's a good question. So when I was even younger than that, when I was in high school, I played football, and I was trying to go to a good school, but at the same time, I was trying to play football in college, ended up playing at Brown. But before that, I won a speech contest. I had an English teacher that was like, join the speech and debate team. You talk too much, I think is what she was trying to say. But I joined the speech and debate team, and I won a couple things. I won the state championship for debate. Then I won a speech contest which paid me $10,000, right? It was a scholarship, and it was the most money I'd ever had. At that point, I'm like, okay, we made it, right? Like. And I decided I wanted to invest that money. That's why I started with investing. So I got a bunch of money. When I was in high school, I decided I wanted to invest. What does that mean? Back then, everybody was doing real estate. It's like 05 06. Everybody's trying to buy real estate. So I thought I could do that. It wasn't enough money. I learned quickly, but. But I could buy stocks. So I got into stocks first, and I opened a portfolio, and I just started. I read there's a. There's a website called the Motley Fool. I think it's still around, but that's what I used to read. I'd read anything about Buffett and I. Stock. You know, you can buy stocks with $100. You can buy stocks with $10,000. You buy stocks with millions of dollars, right? It's just. You buy more of them. So I learned that and sort of trained myself and asked a bunch of questions of people who I knew that were doing that sort of thing. So when I got to Brown, I joined the investment club. That's. It's an Ivy League school. There's a bunch of people who, you know, their parents work in that world. They grew up around it. They know a lot, right? So I learned a lot quickly when I applied for Goldman. And, you know, you got to pretend a little bit, right? So I studied. I didn't come from that world, but. But I studied and I show up to these interviews, and I got the internship.

[Just Hilarious]

When you say pretend, what do you mean?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, you don't, you know.

[Just Hilarious]

You mean, like, you lied about people?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, there's people that. That are born and raised to do this.

[Just Hilarious]

Got you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Gotcha. And they're taught at a young age. You know, I was teaching myself in high school and college. When I say pretend, it's. It's. You study enough to be dangerous, to come into an interview and know what you're talking.

[Just Hilarious]

No, you're talking about, yeah, fake it.

[Unknown]

Till you make it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's not faking it, it's teaching it. It's becoming the thing you need to be. It's becoming the person you need to be. So pretend is the wrong word. Yeah, but it's becoming. Preparing. Preparing.

[Just Hilarious]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You need to, you need to, you need to recognize that you don't. Who you are now isn't who you're going to be ultimately. And you need to take steps towards your goals. That's what you know, and that's how you are both. So what you know is studying books, studying how to invest, studying stocks. How you are is like working at Goldman Sachs is hard. It's. You need discipline, you need work ethic, you need curiosity, you need to be able to communicate. You need to be able to defend your ideas, negotiate, like all these things. So there's skills that you have to develop in yourself and there's knowledge. You need to acquire both. And when you do those things, you can be dangerous.

[Just Hilarious]

Right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You can show up to something and stand up and get it, make it happen.

[Just Hilarious]

So was it your parents like a, A father figure, a mother figure, like, who pushed you in that direction?

[Unknown]

Like, because even in high school, you talking about you invested the money like.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I was making. Listen, it's. Oh, six. Everybody was making money. All stocks were just going up. Back then I thought I was a genius, but it was just the market. Yeah.

[Just Hilarious]

What were you doing as a child? Like, that's what I'm trying to figure out.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like, like, I mean, so I was born in Nigeria. My dad's a doctor. He's a neurologist. My family is all about academics.

[Just Hilarious]

Got you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So the idea to be like, to try to achieve has just been in my life since I was young.

[Just Hilarious]

Absolutely.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's, you know, what are your grades? You got six A's and one B. What's up with that B? Like, let's get that to an A. That's. That was kind of my childhood. And then we were immigrants to America. We moved when I was nine. And coming here for us, I mean, my parents did a lot to bring us here. It's. It's a very complicated, difficult process. And it took years, right? It took like five years for them to do that.

[Just Hilarious]

So I think you should Be saying that at a time like this.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, you know, it's. It's. There's different ways to immigrate. So this is skill. This is a skilled visa is what my dad used. And it's. It's a legitimate process. Just takes a long time. Yeah, there's a bunch of tests. There's a bunch of, they don't care.

[Just Hilarious]

You're a successful black man. You're too smart.

[Demola Olakin]

So. So how did you get to Red Lobster?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Red Lobster. So, you know, the PF Chang's deal went well, and, you know, it won me some. Some plaudits in the industry because it was difficult. Right? And. And it. We made it happen. And then after that, I connected with the. The folks who had lent money to Red Lobster before the company went bankrupt. So they were in line to own it coming out of bankruptcy. It's a good group called Fortress. And so they asked me first to consult, to provide advice, like, you know, you just spent four years running a business that was in distress similar to this. You know, what do you think of this situation? So I was advising them at first, and then it turned into, they asked me to come run it. Basically, I presented a plan. They were like, we like your plan. Please come execute it for us. Right? So. So I took over as CEO coming out of bankruptcy in September. And that's what we've been doing.

[Just Hilarious]

You know, when I first heard that story, I was on the radio acting like I knew what I was talking about. And I was just like, I know exactly what Red Lobster should be doing. And I felt like Red Lobster should, you know, scale down from being a fine dining establishment and be more like Chipotle. Like, you could go in there and, you know, you can get your lobster and shrimp pasta right from the bar. Whatever the items is just right there from the bar. Just make it like a smaller, more Chipotle, like, establishment, as opposed to a fine dining restaurant.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, the thing about Chipotle is they have a well. So your point about being able to get food conveniently is an important one. There should be options and there should be ways where you get things you need quickly. For example, our delivery business, that should feel fast, casual, ish, where you put in an order, it comes quickly, etcetera, Are the way the company is set up, has a cost structure that you can run it, you can run it. Like Chipotle, for example, our restaurants, they're 9,10,000 square feet. Chipotle's are 1500 square feet, maybe 2000 max. So you have a real estate Footprint that you couldn't run on Chipotle revenue per unit. Right. You have to, you have to do more. The food we serve, we serve lobster and crab. You can't sell that at Chipotle price points because you pay too much for those products. So there's, there's structural differences in the businesses that would prevent that. But that said, some of the things Poly is good at, you can be better at. Right? Like delivery digital, you know, speed of service. Those are things that people care about and definitely you can learn from.

[Just Hilarious]

Hold on. Remember I started off by saying, acting like I knew what I was talking about. I knew, I just said, I said acting like I knew what I was talking about.

[Demola Olakin]

So how do you say Red Lobster to now?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right. Well, so the thing is you have to lean into what made it successful in the first place. Right. Like what do people love about Red Lobster? There's a reason it is what it is.

[Unknown]

The biscuits.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Biscuits for sure.

[Unknown]

Biscuits.

[Demola Olakin]

And I also think a lot of us from where we grew up, that was, you know, we went for graduation, we went for celebratory type of like the feeling.

[Just Hilarious]

It felt like five star, fine, it.

[Demola Olakin]

Felt like five star.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

There you go.

[Demola Olakin]

Until you started making.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's it.

[Demola Olakin]

But until all these other restaurants started popping up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Exactly.

[Demola Olakin]

Now, you know, people look down on Red Lobster when it comes to celebratory. They'll go to, you know, a P F Changs, they'll go to a towel, they'll go to an expensive steakhouse because they don't look at Red Lobster as that anymore.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

They probably include a P F Chang's. I think that's all.

[Just Hilarious]

I wouldn't put P F Chang's is.

[Demola Olakin]

But you know, but you know. So how do you change that way of thinking?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So it used to be, it used to. Red Lobster was the first company to take these high end seafood products across the country. It was the first place you could get lobster, get crab. For a lot of people, it's their first experience. I went with to Red Lobster in Springfield, Illinois when I used to live there when I was in, you know, nine or 10. And I remember that right. So I think people, a lot of people have these memories after church, on Sundays, you know, important dinners, graduation, etc. The it's now you can get these products in different places, but we're still the only company at scale that serves lobster and crab. And by the way, it's not. Lobster and crab are wild caught products. You can't farm, raise them so they catch them on boats. We buy 25% of the lobster that's. That's caught on boats in North America. We buy a quarter of it.

[Just Hilarious]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We buy a quarter of the crab that's caught. By virtue of our size and scale, we can get the best product, which we do. So the lobster you get at Red Lobster is as good as lobster. You'll get anywhere. But people don't know that.

[Demola Olakin]

No, not at all.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And so there's a communication aspect to it that need to let people know this is the best. This is the best product you can get for lobster, for crab. That's number one. Number two, you need to give people a reason. You know, you mentioned Chipotle. If we're not going to be priceless Chipotle, then we need to offer something and that Chipotle doesn't offer. And what that is is called service and hospitality. Like, you need to come in, you need to feel like you're welcome. You need to feel like you're a guest. You need to be taken care of. You need to get a connection with your server. So it's food and it's service is where we win.

[Just Hilarious]

And ambiance, because a lot of these restaurants just don't look good.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But that's another thing that is.

[Demola Olakin]

That is lobster Feels like McDonald's at times. When you walk in, the floors look. Look very cold.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

The place looks cold.

[Just Hilarious]

Just. Just to use the right word, outdated.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I did a. I did a remodel project. I totally agree. I did a remodel project at PF Chang, where we remodeled 80% of the restaurants. Right. If you go to them now, it's red, gold, black. It, like, looks cool. So that's what we. You know, we did that. And so this needs something similar, and we're working on that. That takes a bit of time. You have to design it, you have to scope it, you have to test it. You have to prove the results. Then you have to raise the money. Then you have to go. So that takes time. What you can do now is improve service. We launched something we're calling red carpet hospitality, and we launched that a couple weeks ago. And if you go and ask a server in Red Lobster about it, they'll tell you about it. Red stands for recognize, engage, and delight. When people walk in, you need to recognize them, smile. As soon as they walk in, there should be somebody smiling at the toe. Stand to greet them. You see somebody, you're within 10ft of them. You recognize them within 4ft, you speak to them. We call the 104 rule. You make sure that, you know, when people need to go to the bathroom, you walk them there. You don't point to the bathroom. You escort them. You make sure that you're connecting with them, you're talking with them, you're asking questions. So we're training these behavioral patterns. That's something you can do today, right? And then trying to highlight the quality of the food and introduce some new things, like the lobster rolls that are fun, that are interesting. So food and service. And then the third point for sure is ambiance. We fix the things we can fix quickly. Like, the music is better. If you go to a Red Lobster now, you'll notice the music is better. And you'll notice there's small things. Like, we put the market prices on the lobster, we put the liners on the tables. There's small things you can do now, but comprehensively, there needs to be a remodel. Right? And that's something that we'll do in the future.

[Just Hilarious]

I think that y'all got a great foundation, because the biggest thing is that nobody's ever said the food was whack, even to this day. You bought some cheddar cheese biscuits, and everybody went crazy. You know what I'm saying? You think about episodes of the Boondocks when Riley was going crazy over cheese biscuits, Lobster and shrimp pasta's always been my favorite dish. I would that up right now.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like, right now.

[Demola Olakin]

But you know what?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like you said, 100%.

[Demola Olakin]

The one thing, the run, the one reason I stopped going to Red Lobster is because I always felt like Red Lobster's food wasn't as good as a lot of these other places. But now that you're telling me that they're all got from the same place, I. I just myself felt like it was. Maybe it's a process type of thing, and if I go to this restaurant, maybe their quality is better.

[Just Hilarious]

I never felt like y'all food was what?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, the food. The food is great. And especially, again, lobster and crab, because again, we. We buy most of it. We buy more than every country except a couple. You know, Japan, with all their sushi, buys a lot of lobster and crab. And I think China is the only one that buys more than we do. So just because of that, we get the best product. We have scale. We can demand things. We can insist on standards, which we do. So product wise, it's there. But there's a communication that needs to happen. And I'll tell you something, like going through what the company went through, you know, the bankruptcy was damaging in a lot of ways. But one of the things that it raises the question, like, is, do they mess with the product? And the answer is no. Right? Because that's one thing you can't. You can't mess with. And coming out of it, I just want to get people thinking about Red Lobster, how they used to, which is like a fun time, a great meal, great service, great hospitality, and now we need to deliver on that. If I say great hospitality, people go and don't have a good experience. And then, you know, that makes me a liar. But we're seeing the results. So before we launched it, we track what we call a sentiment score, which is net positive versus negative sentiment. Right. Like, what are people saying? That it's good versus what are people saying that's. That's bad. It was 30 when I took over this last month it was 60. So it doubled. Right. And that's after we launched these programs. We got people because they want. People want to have a good experience at work. These waiters and waitresses, it's better for them if they can enjoy themselves and talk to a guest. And they've given license to do that. So we basically, like, let them. Let them free on that and gave them some direction, some coaching, some training, and you see the result. So, yeah, when you go to Red Lobster next, you'll see it's gonna feel different. The people are gonna take care of you different. There's other things we need to do that'll take time. I agree with you on the remodels, but we're starting, you know, where we can now.

[Demola Olakin]

What about franchise? I'm sorry, go ahead.

[Unknown]

There was a list that women had put together, right. Of places that they don't wanna be taken on the first date. Red Lobster was number 11.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

11?

[Unknown]

Yes, it was number 11. So did you see that list?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, I didn't see that list.

[Unknown]

You look like you ain't see it. I'm gonna show you right after we finish. But what did. Do you. Would you say that Red Lobster is a valid place for a first date?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I mean, lobster on a first date. Can you beat that?

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Lobster on a first date. You want to share some main lobster? Twin lobster tails, Rock lobster, main lobster, Right? Okay. All right.

[Just Hilarious]

All right.

[Unknown]

But also on that list, it was PF Chang and Cheesecake Factory.

[Just Hilarious]

Everything was on that list.

[Unknown]

I think it's.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's. There's. These are chain restaurants, and there's something about, like, chain vers. Independent. Now, if you make the chain experience feel like an independent, like each restaurant's Its own and they have like a culture and personality, then it's, it doesn't feel like a chain restaurant.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And there's restaurants that do that really well. And we're, you know, we're working to become that. But look, if you go on a date and have some cheddar bay biscuits, some lobster tails, some bear dye crab, like people are gonna have a great time.

[Demola Olakin]

I was, I wanted to know about franchise and I know most of the stores a company own. But you do, do they still allow certain people to own franchising or not at all anymore?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So all the company, all the stores in the US are company owned. There's still some franchise internationally, but it's a smaller group. It's about 30 units abroad.

[Demola Olakin]

Why is that good or bad? Is it good if some, somebody that owns it in that area or you do you think it's better because it's company owned? Everything is corporately, everything is stamped, everything is the same way.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, it's trade offs. Right. And so I'll just speak broadly about the franchising model versus the corporate owned and operated model. When you own and operate your restaurants, the benefit is you get to control them more closely. So what I just talked about, red carpet hospitality. I rolled it out in our restaurants with my COO and my team and we went, we presented to the people who manage the rest, the level above the restaurants, the people who they report to, the people at the restaurants. We rolled it out quickly. You can do that. Get everybody in a call. This is what we're doing. If it's a franchise business, I need to convince a bunch of franchisees A to agree that it's a good idea.

[Demola Olakin]

Gotcha.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

B, to want to fund it. This case is there's no funding required, but it might need money and they had to put up the cash. Right. Whereas you know, if it's, if we run it, we can just make that decision. So it's easier to do things when you control the business. It's easier to improve and control quality because you'll have some franchisees that do great, some franchisees that don't, some franchises that have great hospitality, some that don't. Right. So it's easier to manage. Now the benefit of franchise model is you have partners that are running smaller businesses. So we have 545 restaurants. If you had 10 franchises, it'd feel like you know, 10, 50 restaurant chains. Right. Which is easier to manage on some level. So there's trade offs. What you'll see is a lot of fast casual Will do franchise models because they're easier to run. Like, it's easy to make a pizza. So it's easy to franchise pizza restaurants. Right. You put it in an oven for X many minutes. And so they can do that and control the quality because it's just not that hard. When it gets complicated, you have to be careful. Not that you can't do it, but you just have to be careful and make sure that the people you're franchising to art. Can run it and will kind of follow the direction.

[Just Hilarious]

Yeah, I got a million. I got more questions.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You run a. You run a franchise. You franchise a few restaurants? Yeah.

[Just Hilarious]

South Carolina. Me and my wife bought five of them.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Good.

[Just Hilarious]

But I got so many questions for you. But then I was just sitting there thinking about, you know, Red Lobster. How do you keep people feeling the nostalgia of Red Lobster? Because as I'm sitting here and I'm listening to you talk, I'm just thinking about all the different memories I've had in Red Lobster. So how do you keep the. This nostalgia of that but then still move people forward?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's. That's why I love the brand. That's part of why. So when we bought PF Changs, I used to tell people like, you ask anybody about PF Changs, they'll be like, oh, I love PF Changs. I used to go there. I haven't been in a while. And same with Red Lobster. Even to a higher degree, I think, especially in our community, a lot of people have these Red Lobster, amazing memories. And so that's a good starting point. So one is to redeliver on the promise of the initial brand, right? Which is great food, great service at an affordable price. And so we need to deliver that number one, which is red carpet hospitality, the food, menu stuff. Like, we're working on all that. And then it's inviting people back, Right? So that's a marketing challenge, like talking about it, letting people know that it's different. It's got new leadership, we're doing new things, and we're trying to get the word out on that. And then. And then it builds a it. People come in with good memories, trying to see what it is. And if they have a great experience, then you snap back into it. People basically have, like, they'll have, like, three, four, five restaurants in their minds that they go to. It's dinner Thursday night, dinner Friday night. They've got like a list in your head. Everybody does. Do I go to this one or this one or that one? So what you're trying to do is get on that list. And you do that by getting people to try you and then delivering. And then you get on. You do that enough times, then you're on the list. Then you become a place they think about and you can increase frequency, right?

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[Charlamagne Tha God]

So that's it. It's. It's simple, but it's complicated. It's simple what needs to happen. But it's a. It's a big organization and it's a lot of. It's a lot of work. Right. But the team's. Team's motivated and we're getting it done.

[Just Hilarious]

How do you eradicate the stigma of chain restaurants? Because I think that's another thing too. Right. People think chain restaurants just aren't healthy for some reason. Even when I invested in Crystal, I like the fact that they had a vegan option on the menu and stuff like that. But I also wouldn't try to push anything that I know I wouldn't eat.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right.

[Just Hilarious]

So, so I. I would eat Crystal. I would eat Red Lobster.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Just Hilarious]

Like, how do you get people to eradicate the stigma of just chain restaurants not being healthy? I guess.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. I mean, some chain restaurants are unhealthy based on the products they use. I think it's. It's about focusing on the food. Like, there's a lot of chain restaurants. There's only one that serves lobster and crab the way we do. So we are a chain restaurant. That is what it is. But the. But the product is unique, and so it's focusing a bit more on the product. Where are you going to get crab? What chain restaurant are you going to get? Beer die crab? What chain restaurant are you going to get some of our. Like, you know, we've got this lobster papadel that just came out. Nobody has that.

[Just Hilarious]

What the hell is that? That sounds.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Lobster pappardell is amazing. It came out in November. Right. So we're doing some new things on the menu using lobster and crab, mostly. So it's folk. It's. It becomes a. The differentiator for us is product. And I want it to be service to hospitality. And once you. If we win on those two, then it's like, okay, it's not just a chain restaurant because it's got something that you can't get anywhere else, and it's got a feeling that you can't find anywhere else. And I feel like family when I get there, and I want to come back. Like, these are the things you can separate yourself on.

[Unknown]

And some of y'all had some. Like, y'all were working with Casamigos, like, running some promotions where y'all had, like, that's good, too. I mean, because that. That's like the drink right now.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So y'all with Snoop Dogg, we're talking to him about his new gin drink, right? And so, yeah, there's opportunities for co branding. We've got Blake Griffin right now in our ads. He's dunking lobster into butter, if anybody's curious. You can. You can look that up. But. But yeah, partnerships are key, right?

[Just Hilarious]

They got bars.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Huh? We got bars.

[Just Hilarious]

I didn't know that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah. You know, they got the bars, got the. Exactly. Got Casamigos, and. And yeah, getting the right partnerships. Right? Like, people who. Because you want to be more relevant.

[Demola Olakin]

But like, he just said, like, you know, I didn't even know there was a bar. Red Lobster.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, yeah.

[Demola Olakin]

Because that's not what people think about when they go watch the game, right? They don't think about going to Red Lobster. And those are some of the things that have to change.

[Just Hilarious]

I wonder. Because when we were young, like, when we were going to Red Lobster, we.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Were young, we weren't drinking.

[Just Hilarious]

We didn't even think.

[Demola Olakin]

But we still don't think about that now.

[Unknown]

You know, they were running the ads, though. It was Commercials. They had, like. That's how I. That's how you. You've seen the thing about the Casamigos.

[Demola Olakin]

I see.

[Unknown]

I'm sorry.

[Just Hilarious]

Where'd you advertise that?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What?

[Just Hilarious]

But I didn't. I never saw the costume. Red Lobster commercial.

[Unknown]

You watch tv? Be honest.

[Just Hilarious]

I'm serious. Because to that point, I seen the new partnership with Popeyes and Don Julio, but I never remember seeing a castle. Miguel.

[Unknown]

But be honest. You've seen that because the girls online, because the. The videos are going viral with them, like, acting like it's a section. Yeah, we can't do that if we're trying to get back to five star feeling Red Lobster. We can't have no sections, no bottle girls coming out, talking about there's things you can do.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right. We launched a happy hour. Right? And like, a happy hour is a simple thing. It's just, you know, same drinks or different drinks, but discounted at a certain time. Come three to six, get drinks for five bucks is what we're doing. Yeah. So you get your beer, wine cocktail, five bucks discount on the appetizers. So now we need to message that more, you know, to the point, like, people need to know that. But. But we launched that in. You know, since I got here, we've been doing a lot. Right. So that came out in November, too. So we want to be a place where you can come hang out at the bar, have a drink, have fun, have a full dinner. It's like, you know, it's fancy food, but it's an approachable feeling. Right. You don't need to wear a suit, you know, to come to. To come to dinner.

[Just Hilarious]

Right, Right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Come. It's. It's. It's. You know, we serve all people.

[Demola Olakin]

Did y'all stop the endless shrimp promotion? So no more endless shrimp. Jesus. How dare you got it messed up.

[Just Hilarious]

Now, by the way. That was a dumb. It wasn't a dumb promotion. But don't promise people endless shrimp, because y'all never give endless.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It was a challenge.

[Just Hilarious]

Exactly. I know people who've tried.

[Demola Olakin]

I don't know if you met Matt.

[Just Hilarious]

We do put a cap on it.

[Demola Olakin]

He's tried.

[Just Hilarious]

I've been in restaurants, but they put a cap on the endless shrimp.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I mean, let's. Look, the way it was done didn't work. I'm not saying it'll never be done, but it'll be done in a way that's. That's more sensible.

[Just Hilarious]

What's sensible? Because you guys, I'm gonna tell you what people will do going there with Four people, one person order endless shrimp, and they just keep bringing mad shrimp for the table.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's. That's insensible. I mean, it is. So, look, I mean, these promotions, People do promotions. Like this Olive Garden does a. And this endless pasta promotion, like, people do these.

[Just Hilarious]

All of this endless stuff is a lie. They will put a cap on your fat ass.

[Demola Olakin]

Different, because it fills you up so fast. You could just keep.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And it's cheap. Yeah, yeah, and it's cheap. So they can do that. So you just need to. The math needs to make. Needs to make sense.

[Demola Olakin]

Is it endless cheddar biscuits still?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

If you want more biscuits, we'll give you more biscuits. We bring out six to the table. Biscuits, biscuits, biscuits we can give you.

[Just Hilarious]

Because when you eat them and drink that water, it's gonna fill your stomach up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, so this biscuits are amazing, right? And people love them. And it's an easy thing for us to do. So, you know, that's an example of being hospitable.

[DJ Envy]

Right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know, not every table's gonna get endless biscuits, but if you were asked your server, could I have more biscuits? And I got to say no.

[Just Hilarious]

Are you allowed to tell us the truth about the endless shrimp? Tell us the truth. It never was. It never was endless.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It was endless.

[Demola Olakin]

Put them out of business.

[Just Hilarious]

Then why did it come to an end?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Look, let me say this. I can't get too much into it, but I'll say this. The previous owner of the business was the shrimp supplier to the business.

[Demola Olakin]

He's double dipping shrimp cut off.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So the math is different.

[Just Hilarious]

Right, Gotcha.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

If you're strictly thinking about the business versus also thinking about the supply chain, the shrimp supplier, then it's different math. Right? So I'm thinking just about the business right now, or the supplier is no longer involved.

[Just Hilarious]

Right. It often seems like they want to put black people in these CEO positions when the company is, like, messed up. Right? So why did you want this job? Especially at the time, Red Lobster was going through bankruptcy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I did the work before. Look, I'm an ambitious person and I'm. And I'm young for the position. I had a lot of success at Changs that even that, when I took over, was not looking good. So for me, it's. I think the brand is worth saving. I think it can be saved. There's a lot of things that need to be done, but I've got the energy and I've got, you know, I'm dedicating the time. We hired a great team. So for me, it's it's. Look, there's. It's a great iconic brand. There's 30,000 people that work for the company. If we can save it, that's a good thing for the country. It's a good thing for the people that work there. It's a good thing for the people that have history going there. Right? So it's, it's, it's. It's not gonna, it's not easy, but it's doable. And why not? Why not try to, try to see if we can get this done?

[Just Hilarious]

How do you know when the back wouldn't step out? Because, you know, you was with PF Chang for four years. First of all, why did you step down?

[Demola Olakin]

Why'd you leave PF Changs?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, we more or less achieved the objectives that we set out to achieve initially. And, you know, I was, I had a. I was also involved on the, on the finance side. Right. I was working at a hedge fund. So I went back to the private equity side to look at the opportunity to do something similar because we learned, we learned a lot doing that, and we felt like we could, we could do that again. Right. With a different brand. And then the Fortress Group reached out and, and we went, we worked with them on Red Lobster. But PF Chang's is a great business. This is about twice the size of PF Chang's in terms of sales and maybe 3x the size in terms of footprint. So it's a bigger challenge, it's a bigger opportunity. You know, a lot of life is calculated risk. Right. And it's, you know, it's hard to really build something without taking some chances along the way. Right. There's no guarantee that you're going to. There's no guarantee when I took over the PF Chang's role that I'd be successful, but if I was, you know, it'd be great for a lot of people. And we were same thing here. If we're successful here, this is, you know, this is an iconic brand that we brought back from bankruptcy and hopefully turn into a thriving company for decades to come. Right. So that, that to me is worth, it's worth that. It's worth going for.

[Just Hilarious]

So why did you start down with your jinx?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Just. We were just basically done. We're ready to, you know, once you turned them around, once the, Once the owners decide that it's time to do something, you know, they. We turn it around and eventually, you know, without commenting on their situation, but they're going to do different things from an ownership Perspective. Right. So it's like behind the scenes combos. Right. But nothing to do with the business.

[Just Hilarious]

So is that just a mind state of being? You know who you are? Like, you know, they'll hire you, put you in these positions, you'll turn them around and you'll move on to the next thing.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, no, no. I mean, it depends on the situation. If it's, if it's a group, for example, Fortress is willing to invest and do the work to turn this business around. And if that's the case, then I can be successful. But you need that alignment. Ownership and operator. When ownership takes a different perspective, for example, we want to manage cost, let's say, or we want to, you know, cut certain things, we want to stop investing in certain things. If I disagree with that and I go execute it, then I'm responsible for the result. So on some level, you just need to agree with what ownership wants to do. Ownership owns the business. If you disagree, it's either got to leave. Right. Not the people that own the business. So to the extent that, you know, look, every CEO is either going to resign or get fired one day. That's how CEO jobs end. You don't get promoted, you know, from that.

[Just Hilarious]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So for me, it's. As long as things are aligned, it makes sense. But you don't. I don't want. It's not wise to be in a situation where you don't agree with the plan and you're responsible for implementing the plan. Because if you think something's not going to work and you do it and it doesn't work like you thought it was like, like you, you predicted, and it's, you're still going to get blamed.

[Demola Olakin]

Do you change the target audience for Red Lobster? I'm just thinking about it now.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right.

[Demola Olakin]

And anytime you usually see a Red Lobster is in neighborhoods.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right. It's.

[Demola Olakin]

It's in Queens, it's in areas where it's usually middle class or poorer. But when I look at PF Chang's, it's a little different. It's a lot different, actually. Do you change your audience or is that the case? Because especially with the world now, a lot of people are not making the money as they were before and they're struggling, which means in those areas, they're going to be struggling to come to Red Lobster.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You mean the demographics of where the restaurants are?

[Demola Olakin]

Absolutely.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So it's tricky to move your restaurant footprint because you have long leases and you're. The footprint kind of is what it is. Some come up for renewal every year, etc. But for the most part, what we can do is. So value is an interest. So value is an equation. Part of it is price. And you can get some things on the menu that are lower price. For example, the lobster rolls are great. If you want lobster and you want it for 20 bucks, we've got the lobster roll in certain markets for that price. At the same time, values what you get for the price. So if you improve what you get, then you improve value. So if hospitality is way better and the food is more interesting and the drinks are fun and you pay the same price, but all of that is better, people will perceive that as better value. So value is important, but we approach it from both ends, improve the product, and then give people entry level things that you can get for 20 bucks, 15 bucks. You know, we have shrimp, your wafers, you know, 16.99 for two types of shrimp. There's things you can do that are approachable if you don't want to do the full lobster for it for a higher price. Right?

[Just Hilarious]

So I'm looking at the Lobster fest menu right now. I ain't gonna lie. I might go to Red Lobster this weekend. I'm not even gonna drive. I might take. I'm like, I never took my kids to Red Lobster.

[Demola Olakin]

Never, never.

[Just Hilarious]

And I'm like, yo, man, like me and the wife, let's take the kids to Red Lobster just to see what they. What they feel.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Set it up for you.

[Just Hilarious]

No, I'm not gonna tell you where I'm going, but I'm gonna tell you I know exactly which one I'm going to, too.

[Demola Olakin]

I know which one you going to, too.

[Just Hilarious]

You know which one I'm going to.

[DJ Envy]

Yes, I know which one you going.

[Just Hilarious]

To.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But that one look a little beat up, though.

[Just Hilarious]

It look a lot beat up. But I'm going tell you something.

[DJ Envy]

That's why I was just asking that question. They don't look.

[Just Hilarious]

I pass it every morning, and in my mind, you know, you just thinking nostalgia. I'm like, damn, yo. Back in the day, when I was young, that would have been perfect. The hotel right there. The Red Lobster, right there you go. Right? The Red Lobster.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's still perfect, my man. It's still perfect.

[Demola Olakin]

That's a motel, so it's a bumper.

[Just Hilarious]

But think about when you was 17, 18. That would have been perfect, right?

[Unknown]

Well, think about when Beyonce said it in the song.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What did that do?

[Just Hilarious]

Ooh, yes.

[Unknown]

When he me good, I take his ass to Red Lobster. What did that do for the song?

[Just Hilarious]

Why didn't y'all capitalize on that?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes. I wasn't here.

[Unknown]

Oh, yeah. My man said that was before me. I didn't.

[Just Hilarious]

It's not too late, though, right? Right. Cause it's not too late for that. Even when Riley mentioned it on the.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Boondock, you know, the Kelsey brothers did something with us. So. Yeah, I mean, part of the game is to. Is to take advantage of cultural moments, right? Like, when something happens in the culture, like, you want to be on it. So that. That's something that we weren't very good at in the past, and we need to get better at, for sure.

[Just Hilarious]

Did you even talk to them about that? Like, did anybody reach out to Beyonce?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't know. I can't speak to that. You know, I wasn't here. But. But for example, Flavor Flav, we did, right, to save the. You know, wanted to save Red Lobster. They did. You know, we did a promotion with them. So there's. It's. It's important, for sure. And, yeah, I mean, look, now, Kelsey brothers reach out. We respond the same day, right? Like, so we're. We're engaging, and it's important.

[Just Hilarious]

Man, I'm so impressed by you because, I mean, number one, you're young, you're 36, you're from Nigeria. I'm just wondering, like, what are the challenges, you know, being so young as a CEO, do people take you as serious as they should in the business that you're in?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I think so. I mean, look, I think, you know, the best thing you can do to accrue the respect you want is to just be a person worthy of respect, Right? Like, if you behave. If you behave the right. If you develop yourself a certain way and behave the right way, and you're a serious person, and that's obvious, people will. They will respect you. It's. It's natural. People know, right. If they meet you and they don't feel subconsciously like you're a person deserving of respect, they won't give it to you. Especially if you're young but black. Yeah, sure. But you can overcome all that just by being a person that's clearly worthy of respect. And then, you know, that goes out the window. Like, I don't. I don't have issues. If I sit down with somebody for 30 minutes, they don't leave feeling like, you know, he's not serious or he doesn't know what he's talking about or he's not intelligent or he can't communicate at the end of it. They under. You know, they're fine. So yeah, maybe before, but you know, you talk to somebody, they, you know, they, they know they, people know, they understand. Right. And so they don't.

[Unknown]

That asks about me, man. I'm like, ask about me.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, it's just, it's just, it's just I wasn't, you know, you're not born as a finished product. It's all about development. So if you, if you work, you know, like I said, I said, they made me join the speech and debate team in high school.

[Unknown]

You're that guy. I can pin that guy really well.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Now, but that's been a work in process. Right. You know, I played football growing up through high school, college. Yeah, it made. Makes you strong physically. You know what it does, it makes you strong mentally. You got to wake up 6am Every day, you got to go train. You got. So you learn things, right? And that becomes part of your character. You know, the emotional discipline, that's important too. You learn that. So if you spend your life building these skills, you will become a person that has these skills and that is what people respect.

[Just Hilarious]

How is the weaponization of DEI impacted you, if at all? Do people say, oh, he's a D.E.I. hire?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, I've just been so successful throughout my life, I don't get that. Or I mean, you could take, you know, for me it goes back to early. Early I, I aim to excel at everything I do. And there's very little evidence of me not excelling in anything that I've tried to do from football to Brown to Goldman to TBG to Harvard to Paulson. Like there's no real L's on the, on not say, I won't fail at anything. I have failed at plenty.

[Unknown]

Let's go talk to them coaches.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, he's not as good as he thought.

[Just Hilarious]

He was.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Into my 40 yard dash. There's a record out there somewhere. That's right. That's funny.

[Just Hilarious]

Somebody at Brown, like I used to bust his ass when he's talking about date.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, that's a fair point. But you know, and I'm not saying that to Brad, but I'm just saying you, you can build a habit of excellence and that, that's how, that's how you'll be viewed. Right. And so I think anybody can achieve. You just have to build these habits. Yeah, right. So it's really more motivation to people who are listening.

[Just Hilarious]

Was you coming from Nigeria? You know, you say your dad was a neurologist. I read your mom was a pharmacist. Were they upset you didn't stay in like the, that, that field in some way, shape or form.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like, my parents were always just like, whatever you do, just be the best at it. That's, that was, that's all they ever cared about. When I, when we got to America, we went to, we lived in Springfield, Illinois. I remember we went to go get a haircut. And the barber, the barber's name was Fresh. The barber. And Fresh was driving an S class Ben's, even though it was a barber. Nigeria, that's unheard of, right? A barber driving a Benz. But my dad's point when we saw that was in America, if you're the best at whatever you do, whatever it is you can do really well, you can have a nice life, you can build something for yourself. So they were just like, what you choose whatever you want, but aim to be the best at it, right? Which I think is good advice because people have different interests. Not everybody's going to be, care about finance. Not everybody's good enough at math to do that. But you might be good at something else. You know, you might start a podcast, maybe you're very good at interviewing people. You're a very good speaker. You might find some other interest, music or whatever, right? But whatever you do, if you, if you, if you build a mentality that my goal is to be the best at it, then you're gonna do all right.

[Just Hilarious]

I like this too, man. Because it's clear you understand culture. Because I can't think of, I'm trying to think, who have any CEOs of any restaurants come here?

[Demola Olakin]

I'm really trying to think besides Carbone? No.

[Just Hilarious]

Oh, Carbone comes in. I don't want to say no because we've been doing it for 14 years, but this is the first that I can remember. And why is this important to do? Why is it important to do, you know, media?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You got to get the word out, you know, people need to. People don't. I live this every day, so I know everything we're doing, but most people don't. So somebody's got to tell them.

[Demola Olakin]

Is that difficult? Do they listen to you? Is that difficult? Do they listen?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I get, I get. People listen. When I, when I, if I do like a CNN art, you know, I did a CNN interview, I did a Today show interview, or I did a Wall Street Journal interview. And those get a lot of views. I think people are curious, right? Like, what's, what's going on with this guy, right? 36 year old CEO, like, you know, black guy, what's. What's up. And so they want to. There's a curiosity there. But that, that's fine because that creates attention for the business, which is what I, what I mostly care about. And then.

[Unknown]

Oh, my bad.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, please.

[Unknown]

And then was, was, was good about it is you get to hear what people want.

[Just Hilarious]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Like, you know, you, like we're talking to you about what our.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And you guys represent the culture, right? Because you guys speak. You guys speak for the culture in a way that not a lot of people do. You talk to viewers all the time. You hear what people are listening to. You see what people are engaging with, what parts of the segment. So you guys know. Right. And so, yeah, for sure it's helpful for me to hear and, and it's helpful to have a platform to speak and talk about some of the things that, that we're working on.

[Just Hilarious]

I do feel like there is room for like, just smaller locations. Like if I'm sitting here at the radio station and I want to go to lunch, but I don't want to sit somewhere. Like, I just want to run in.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Just Hilarious]

Grab a lobster and shrimp bowl real quick. I feel like there's room for that because you got food trucks that got these lobster rolls and everything.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

For sure. If I started the company today, they wouldn't be as big as they are. You know, if I could stab my finger and shrink all of them. You probably would. They were built for a different time. Now a lot of the business is off premise. It's a lot of grab and grow. So my point is that we're kind of stuck with the footprint. Right. It's not.

[Just Hilarious]

Are you reach out. There's an African out here right now who's trying to shrink everything. His name is Elon Musk. I'm sure there's a doge way of doing stupid.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Real estate is not impossible to change, but it's harder to change and it's expensive to change. If you want to get out of a lease, you need to pay the landlord. How many years you got left, how many dollars per year? Times that by 30%. That's probably what you owe them. And then you got to build a new restaurant. You know, that's, that's a few million dollars per, per unit. So it's, it's, it's a, it's a thing that you would do. You just need to, you have limited capital. You got to make decisions. What's. What comes first. Right. But for sure, if, if, if you were starting this company all over, you wouldn't have as big and that was true for PF Changs, too. You know, PF Chang's was 8,9000 square feet. The new ones we built were 4 or 5,000 square feet. And you'd probably do the same thing here. And these are bigger, you know, these are closer to 10,000. So it's a. It's a good, valid point. Just a harder thing to fix quickly.

[Just Hilarious]

Before you get out of here, because you already gave the CEO look back to your people to wrap it up, what's your involvement with HBCUs? What's Red Lobster doing with HBCU?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, look, so, I mean, before that, Darden, the founder of Red Lobster, Bill Darden, who Darden Co. Is named after, that's Olive Garden, Texas, Longhorn, et cetera. So he's an important restaurateur in American history. The first restaurant that he opened was Red Lobster, and that from the very beginning, had a really good relationship with the black American community. This is in 68. So at the very end of the Civil Rights movement, but from the very beginning, black people were welcome to eat there, welcome to work there. And that was stance that he took from the very beginning. So it's always had a good relationship with black America from the start. You mentioned Beyonce, mentioned Flavor Flav. It's always had a position in culture. I'm just acknowledging it and speaking to it and doing more for that to try to build that. So HBCUs, we did band of the Year, right? Where we went to watch the bands perform. Bamu won, Miles won for the junior division, and we gave the awards out. We sponsored it. Red Lobster, and millions of dollars went to scholarships and things like that. So we're gonna do more. You know, that's a start. But it's an important community. It's one that has been connected to the brand for a long time, and it's a good place to spend time and spend money on our behalf.

[Demola Olakin]

All right, well, we appreciate you for joining us and bringing us some biscuits.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Enjoy.

[Demola Olakin]

Thank you so much.

[Just Hilarious]

And whatever we can do to help, man. I mean, I want to see you succeed. I appreciate it. If people like you succeed, then that just means more success for the rest of us.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I appreciate that. Yeah. Visit your local at Red Lobster. You guys send feedback, and we'll keep improving.

[Demola Olakin]

Well, there you have it. It's the Mola. Adam Loken.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes. You nailed it.

[Demola Olakin]

All right. There we go. It's the Breakfast Club.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Good morning.

[Just Hilarious]

Wake that ass up early in the morning.

[Carlos Miller]

The Breakfast Club.

[DJ Envy]

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[Carlos Miller]

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