Red Lobster’s “irresistible” all-you-can-eat shrimp promotion has indeed proved hard to resist.

       The Ultimate Endless Shrimp deal has been so popular that it helped cause a drop in third-quarter profit for the restaurant chain, which had to raise the price to $25 from $20.

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       Thai Union Group, which owns a large stake in the chain, said in a third-quarter earnings call this month that the deal was in part to blame for an $11 million operating loss.

       Red Lobster hoped the promotion would bolster traffic at its U.S. locations through fall and winter, when its restaurants tend to be the emptiest.