No, there is not a secret Red Lobster at Harvard Business School
Despite what Google Maps says, Beyoncé’s seafood chain of choice does not have an Ivy League outpost.
In “Formation,’’ the song and video Beyoncé released before her performance at the Super Bowl, the megastar sings about taking a man to the seafood chain Red Lobster after they have sex. You can watch the video here, but the lyrics are NSFW, so put your headphones in.
It appears that Beyoncé is a trendsetter for romantic morning-after (or evening-after?) meals: Since the song’s release, Red Lobster saw a 33% increase in sales last Sunday vs. Super Bowl Sunday in 2015, according to USA Today. One would imagine the Red Lobster marketing department is delighted.
If you live in Boston and want to make like Beyoncé by taking your Valentine to the seafood restaurant this weekend, it appears you’re out of luck. When you enter the Boston area code into the search function on the company’s website, this is what happens:
“We’re sorry, there are currently no Red Lobster restaurants located in your area,’’ the website reads. “We look forward to serving you in the future as we continue to grow and expand across the country.’’
But is there secretly a hidden Red Lobster in an unlikely Cambridge spot? When you search “Red Lobster Boston’’ in Google maps, it takes you to Harvard Business School.
Unfortunately, this is too good to be true. According to Harvard Business School director of media and public relations Jim Aisner, the future leaders of America aren’t actually secreting away Beyoncé’s seafood restaurant of choice.
“I had no knowledge of this and don’t understand how it could happen, because there’s no Red Lobster on this campus,’’ Aisner said after he typed the search terms into the map tool and watched HBS pop up in the results. He laughed.
Google—and Red Lobster—did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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