It turns out, telling Americans they can eat as much shrimp as they want for $20 makes you lose money. Who would have thought?

If you’ve been to Red Lobster recently, well first, sorry, but second, you may have noticed their recent promotion: endless shrimp for just $20. “Wow!” you may have thought. “This is a great, incredibly stupid deal!”

You would be right, and now, Red Lobster has admitted that this promotion is a bad idea, it always was, and that they also lost $11 million trying it out anyway.

@eatitkatie Respect the game #endlessshrimp #redlobster #foodchallenge ♬ πρωτότυπος ήχος - No

So why was this such a terrible plan? I don’t think you need to ask, but if you’re really curious, Red Lobster said that the whole idea was to lose money (I love business). The endless shrimp deal would cost them some cash, they thought, but it would at least get people in the door, right?

They ended up being half-right. People did come in the door, yes — but it was to eat the shrimp that was slowly bankrupting the company.

@thestonersonny Red Lobster…..u did ya thang, im stuffed. #redlobsterendlessshrimpchallenge #fyp #follow #like #thestonersonny ♬ original sound - TheStonerSonny

@maceyraepittman Mercury poisoning here we come @Nick Cagle #shrimp #foodie #endless #datenight #lilshrimpgang #garlicbutter ♬ Let It Whip - Dazz Band

Some may blame the failure of the deal on social media. Red Lobster's Endless Shrimp became incredibly popular on TikTok, and given the recent rise of food challenges, many people coming into the restaurant saw the “all-you-can-eat” marker as the laying down of a gauntlet. ‘All I can eat’? Screw you, how about ‘all I can survive’? Bring on the shrimp!

@waynedang Red Lobster $20 Endless Shrimp Deal is amazing! All you can eat shrimp Food Review! #fastfood #fastfoodreview #foodcritic #mukbang #longervideos #tiktokpartner #lifeontiktok #eatwithme #foodtiktok #redlobster #endlessshrimp #redlobsterendlessshrimp ♬ original sound - Wayne Dang

Unbelievably, Red Lobster has made this mistake before. As our good friends at Cracked pointed out, Red Lobster once offered endless snow crab at a time when prices for the dish were at an all-time high. “Red Lobster actually lost money on every customer ordering more than a half dozen, which was a problem, seeing as how the average customer ate at least 2 dozen,” notes the article.

@britbxt #endlessshrimp #redlobster #lmao ♬ Don't be suspicious - io non so

Despite losing millions, Red Lobster isn’t quite ready to give up the endless shrimp deal. It's going to try to rally at a higher price (it’s already been bumped up to $22, then $25), and then see if the deal continues to be a complete failure. We all know how this is going to end, so if you’re near a Red Lobster and want endless shrimp, you better head in before the cost gets any higher — or all those shrimp tails drive the place out of business.