In 1982, General Mills Restaurant Group Inc., a subsidiary of General Mills and owner of Red Lobster, launched Olive Garden, a chain of Italian food restaurants in their hometown of Orlando, and it was a huge success, with over 300 restaurants within a decade. With about 150 restaurants by 1990, General Mills decided to launch China Coast in Orlando, which would be a sister chain to Olive Garden, except focused on Chinese cuisine, and expected to do just as well. After the pilot location in Orlando did well, plans quickly developed for a nationwide expansion of the concept.
China Coast was relatively progressive for its time, in one 1993 newspaper classified, it reads "We support a culturally diverse workforce, and encourage women and minorities to apply."
However, problems soon came up. Unlike Olive Garden, which had practically no competition in the Italian food sector (especially in smaller towns without a heavy Italian presence), China Coast competed with locally-operated Chinese restaurants, and cooking with a wok was an art rather than flipping a hamburger. Restaurants were oversized for the Chinese food concept, and by 1994 General Mills put expansion to a halt. Shortly after General Mills spun off their restaurant group (with the newly-renamed Darden Restaurants Inc. being a separate company), Darden closed restaurants, and a result after August 21, 1995, 51 restaurants were closed for good, putting about 3,000 employees nationwide out of work.
Every location I've come across (except for the original) has the exact same décor, likely renovated out of the original turquoise "pagoda" style to come closer to the nautical décor of Red Lobster. Supposedly, many were also converted to Olive Garden or closed entirely but I have yet to come across them. List is arranged by state alphabetically, then city.
The restaurants were only in Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Texas and Arizona, with a few more states shortly afterward (including Oklahoma and Kentucky, see below). At the time of its closure, some restaurants were planned or under construction. Despite being small, this list (along with the Michigan locations linked) covers almost all of the chain, with many empty spots helped by South Texas Retail filling in the spots. (If you know more, please contact me). Michigan locations of the chain can be seen here (not my site, though I'm pretty sure that page did not exist when I started this page).
Store No. | City | State | Address | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
6032 | Tuscon | AZ | 5870 E. Broadway Blvd. | Opened May 1994 in an existing space (Augustino's), now Red Lobster (since 1996). Building also has other tenants. |
Altamonte Springs | FL | 499 E. Altamonte Drive | Opened November 1992. Re-opened as Bahama Breeze in 1997. (Thanks Mike M.!) | |
Fort Walton Beach | FL | 309 Miracle Strip Pkwy. SW | Opened 1994. Later Evergreen Chinese Restaurant and Panda Buffet. Currently Ocean Buffet. | |
Lakeland | FL | 3706 North Road 98 | Opened October 18, 1993, re-opened in 1996 as Red Lobster. (Red Lobster relocated from their first location opened in 1968). | |
6018 | Melbourne | FL | 2355 West New Haven Avenue | Opened April 1994. Now Red Lobster. |
Orlando | FL | 7500 International Drive | First location. Later Ronnie's Steakhouse, Salt Island, Taverna Yamas, and Game Changers Sports Bar & Grill, but currently vacant | |
Orlando | FL | 7373 West Colonial Drive | Opened 1992. Now Red Lobster. | |
Orlando | FL | 3552 East Colonial Drive | Opened 1994. Now Red Lobster. | |
Orlando | FL | 8003 Golden Sky Lane | Opened 1994. Re-opened as Red Lobster in 1996. | |
Port Richey | FL | 8909 US-19 | Opened July 4, 1994. Now Red Lobster. | |
Winter Haven | FL | 230 Cypress Gardens Blvd. | Opened 1994. Now Red Lobster | |
Winter Park | FL | 335 N. Semoran Blvd. | Opened 1994. Demolished by 1999 for adjacent car dealership expansion. | |
Duluth | GA | 1590 Pleasant Hill Road | Opened September 5, 1994. Later Cooker Bar & Grille and Joe's Crab Shack and now The Krab Hut. | |
Kennesaw | GA | 790 Cobb Pl Blvd. NW | Opened 1994. Later Cooker Bar & Grille and now On The Border. | |
Indianapolis | IN | 7303 South US Hwy. 31 | Opened 1994. Later Joe's Crab Shack and demolished for Take 5 Oil Change. | |
Indianapolis | IN | 8852 Signature Drive | Opened May 1993, site redeveloped into Costco and smaller shops (along with other restaurants in the area, possibly other General Mills concepts) | |
Indianapolis | IN | 3831 Gemco Lane | Opened May 1993, later Red Lobster (which has since closed). Address now 5090 W. 38th Street. | |
6036 | St. Matthews | KY | 986 Breckenridge Lane | Opened August 7, 1994. Mentioned in the surviving commercial on YouTube; now Red Lobster. |
Cincinnati | OH | 8600 Beechmont Avenue | Opened December 1994, later Cooker Bar & Grille and various Mexican restaurants. Demolished in 2013 for Tire Discounters. | |
Columbus | OH | 1691 E. Dublin Granville Rd. | Opened 1994, converted to Red Lobster (closed c. early 2023) | |
Columbus | OH | 2795 S. Hamilton Road | Opened 1995 and never reopened (auctioned off in May 2002 and demolished c. 2005 for new Kaufmann's addition). | |
Cuyahoga Falls | OH | 420 Howe Avenue | Opened 1994, later Cooker Bar & Grille and Joe's Crab Shack. Demolished in 2007 for Chick-fil-A. | |
Dayton | OH | 7580 Poe Avenue | Opened February 1994, later Cooker Bar & Grille and Mr. Lee's Fine Asian Dining, currently Shen's Szechuan & Sushi | |
Oklahoma City | OK | 2701 West Memorial Road | Opened February 6, 1995, as the only China Coast in the state. Later China Court Restaurant and Baker Street Pub & Grill. The site is currently vacant. | |
Chattanooga | TN | 2200 Bams Drive | Opened mid-to-late 1994 and converted to Red Lobster after closure of the chain. (Thanks Ken Towery!) | |
Nashville | TN | 1919 Gallatin Pike | Opened January 16, 1995, later Joe's Crab Shack and Asia Buffet. Demolished in 2007 for a strip mall. | |
Addison | TX | 4300 Belt Line Road | Opened in 1993. Now Fogo de Chão. | |
6052 | Arlington | TX | 2390 E. Lamar Blvd. | Opened in December 1994. Later Grand Buffet and now Take a Bao. |
6063 | Arlington | TX | 1109 W. Interstate 20 | Opened 1995. Later operated as Texana Grill. Torn down in 2008 for a strip mall. |
6062 | Corpus Christi | TX | 5217 South Padre Island Drive | Opened March 6, 1995. Became TGI Fridays in 1997 |
Dallas | TX | 9069 Vantage Point Drive | Opened in 1993. Now Red Lobster | |
6046 | Dallas | TX | 10290 Technology Blvd. E. | Opened in 1995. Now Red Lobster (temporarily closed due to a fire) |
6027 | El Paso | TX | 8401 Gateway Blvd. West | Opened in July 1, 1994, reopened as Red Lobster by 1997 |
6037 | El Paso | TX | 800 Sunland Park Drive | Opened in August 22, 1994. Reopened as Red Lobster in 1996 |
Fort Worth | TX | 4840 SW Loop 820 | Opened in March 18, 1994. Later operated as Chef Chen Buffet & Bar before being torn down in 2017 for DXL Big + Tall | |
6028 | Houston | TX | 302 FM 1960 West | Opened 1994 as China Coast and converted into Red Lobster, closed in May 2024 locations purge. |
6016 | Houston | TX | 2760 Highway 6 | Opened in 1994 and reopened as Red Lobster in 1996. |
6030 | Houston | TX | 13232 Northwest Freeway | Now Red Lobster (opened '94 as China Coast). |
6056 | Irving | TX | 4205 W. Airport Freeway | Opened 1995. Now Red Lobster |
6040 | Lewisville | TX | 2497 S. Stemmons Fwy. | Opened in 1994. Now Red Lobster |
6024 | McAllen | TX | 711 E. Expressway 83 | Opened in July 1994. Later Joe's Crab Shack (closed and demolished in 2017 for Rio Bank Tower) |
Mesquite | TX | 4000 Towne Crossing Blvd. | Opened in 1993. Now Posados Cafe | |
6019 | North Richland Hills | TX | 7536 Grapevine Hwy. | Opened August 1994, later New Dragon, Evergreen Chinese Super Buffet, and Takara Japanese Steakhouse, now Japan House (address now 7536 Boulevard 26) |
6031 | Plano | TX | 5012 West Park Blvd. | Opened in 1994, later China Garden and Osaka Sushi (torn down in 2021 for Chili's) |
6009 | Texas City | TX | 10510 Emmett Lowry Expressway | Opened December 13, 1993, later Cafe Shangri La, China One Restaurant, and Uncle Chen's Super Buffet. Currently Beyond Burger (opened after a period of vacancy). |
6050 | Waco | TX | 5925 West Waco Drive | Opened 1994 originally, Red Lobster in 1996. |
Chesapeake | VA | 1440 Greenbrier Pkwy. | Later Cooker Bar & Grille and Vivo Cucina. Demolished in 2007 for Cracker Barrel. | |
Chesapeake | VA | 4108 Portsmouth Blvd. | Opened 1994, later divided between Bank of Hampton Roads and Mattress Discounters, now divided between Union Bank & Trust and Mattress Firm |
City | State | Address | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Altamonte Springs | FL | 340 W. State Rd 436 | Never opened, became Red Lobster in 1998 |
Largo | FL | Ulmerton Rd. and 101st St. | Never built |
Tampa | FL | 4115 E. Busch Blvd. | Never opened; later Cooker Bar & Grille, Casa Mexicana, and Classic Homestyle Buffet. Now Value Pawn & Jewelry. See link above regarding construction. |
Bloomingdale | IL | Army Trail Road | Never built, site redeveloped into a bank |
Albany | NY | 170 Wolf Road | Never opened, became Red Lobster in 1998 |
York | PA | Kenneth Road and Route 30 | Never built |