San Diego Red Lobster location among those to close, auction items

Above: A Nexstar video on fast food chain prices.

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — One San Diego location of Red Lobster is among the four dozen sites the seafood restaurant chain abruptly closed this week and began to auction off all of their equipment.

The Mira Mesa location at 8330 Mira Mesa Blvd., was listed with five other outposts of the popular eatery in California whose equipment is being advertised for a liquidation sale, according to TAGeX Brands, the company managing the shutdown.

A sign that reads "This location is closed. We look forward to serving you at another Red Lobster location in the future," appeared to have been posted on the door of the Mira Mesa restaurant sometime Monday. Their online hours are also listed as "closed."

The three other San Diego-area locations of Red Lobster in Midway District, Chula Vista and Temecula are all operating as normal.

All of the décor and equipment from the Mira Mesa location appear to be a part of the listing for the auction, which is scheduled to end on Thursday with pick-up on Friday.

Key items mentioned by TAGeX Brands in the auction listing include: "high-performance ovens, upright refrigerators and freezers, cooking and warming solutions, and comprehensive bar and dining setups." The current bid is $2,100 for all the items.

The apparent closures and auction come amid reports that Red Lobster considered filing for bankruptcy back in April, although the company has not publicly confirmed this or given a reason for the abrupt nature of their closure.

According to the reports, the company has faced some financial and internal challenges over the past few years, cycling through executives while hemorrhaging money due to things like the endless shrimp fiasco.

FOX 5/KUSI reached out to the company for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.