Free Biscuits and Breadsticks

Red Lobster has emerged from bankruptcy.

After the company infamously underestimated America’s capacity for all-you-can-eat shrimp, it’s now focused on its next chapter with a new CEO at the helm.

Red Lobster is arguably most known not for shrimp or lobster, but another AYCE item – its Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

Serving up free bread is common at all kinds of restaurants. And for good reason.

 It’s a positive way to start off the experience of the meal. It can encourage a group to order drinks sooner and jumpstart appetites. Or it can buy a restaurant some time, giving hungry diners something to snack on while appetizers and entrees are being prepared.

Come for the Biscuits, Stay for the Lobster

Chains like Cheesecake Factory and Olive Garden (which used to share a parent company with Red Lobster), have expertly made their free bread offerings signature parts of their dining experiences.

Many diners ordering lobster and other expensive seafood dishes are more excited about the biscuits than the seafood.

That’s an impressive feat of culinary – and communications – skill.

Establishments like Red Lobster enhance this message by offering not just free bread, but unlimited bread. In Olive Garden’s case, the soup and salad are unlimited too.

These restaurants enforce a unique policy to ensure diners experience that unlimited feel.

It’s known as the “extra biscuit rule.”

Each basket of bread has exactly one piece per diner, plus an additional one for the table.

That small gesture pays off the feeling of abundance without forcing diners to ask for more. According to some employees, it’s designed to get the table talking and thinking about their orders.

It shows just how intentional restaurants are about creating a specific experience and feeling during the meal.