Red Lobster's April Fools' Day Food Joke Should Be Real
The seafood chain was just kidding, but we’re not.
April Fools' Day has come and gone which means inboxes and social media posts can be trusted once again ... for the most part. But, there's one April Fools' joke that has us wishing it was real, and that's Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay biscuits to breadsticks.
In celebration of April Fools' Day, the seafood chain announced it would be offering its beloved Cheddar Bay biscuits in the form of breadsticks. Red Lobster touted the fact that its Cheddar Bay Breadsticks were perfect for dunking into any of its entrees and helped to make sure "no sauce is left behind."
However, being that the breadsticks made their debut on April 1st, there was of course a catch: the new Cheddar Bay item was only available for one day at the New York City Times Square Red Lobster location. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Cheddar Bay biscuit fanatics, and if you weren't in New York, you missed it.
"We've won over the hearts and stomachs of our guests for more than 30 years with Cheddar Bay Biscuits and it got us thinking – why isn't there more Cheddar Bay in the world," Sara Bittorf, Chief Experience Officer at Red Lobster said in the announcement.
To Bittorf's point, why isn't there more Cheddar Bay in the world? Red Lobster is far from the only food business to advertise a fictitious new item. Grillo's pickles and Sonic both posted fake products on social media that, to the right audience, could be worth a shot. Grillo's advertised a fake collaboration with Califia Farms to create a dill pickle coffee creamer that this pickle-loving author would be willing to try. Sonic collaborated with Moe's Southwest Grill to post a fake Queso Slush beverage.
But, Red Lobster should go the way of chain's like Culver's and Chipotle which both made April Fools' jokes a reality at the behest of customers. In 2021, Culver's jokingly posted an image of a burger with a giant hockey puck-like cheese curd stacked on top of a beef patty. The burger chain eventually offered the burger as a genuine limited-time menu item and it sold like hot cakes ... or rather, cheese curds.
Similarly, Chipotle once posted cilantro soap to its social media feed as a gag gift for the holidays. This was a nod to the people whose taste buds make cilantro taste like soap. The gag gift sold out within hours of being offered.
In our opinion, this is no joking matter. If the chain takes our advice, Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Breadsticks may be its next hit.