Who owns Olive Garden Chain?
Olive Garden started as a unit of General Mills. The first Olive Garden was opened on December 13, 1982, in Orlando. By 1989, there were 145 Olive Garden restaurants, making it the fastest-growing unit in the General Mills restaurant division. Who owns Olive Garden Chain? Olive Garden restaurants were uniformly popular, and the chain’s per-store…
Olive Garden started as a unit of General Mills. The first Olive Garden was opened on December 13, 1982, in Orlando. By 1989, there were 145 Olive Garden restaurants, making it the fastest-growing unit in the General Mills restaurant division.
Who owns Olive Garden Chain?
Olive Garden restaurants were uniformly popular, and the chain’s per-store sales soon matched former sister company Red Lobster. The company eventually became the largest chain of Italian-themed full-service restaurants in the United States. General Mills spun off its restaurant holdings as Darden Restaurants, a stand-alone company, in 1995. In 2009, Olive Garden was Darden’s most inexpensive restaurant chain with an average check per person of $15.00 (USD) versus over $90 at its sibling Capital Grille.
Olive Garden serves several types of Italian-American cuisine including pasta dishes, steaks, and salads. The company advertises its breadstick product and centers its lunch menu around it. Additionally, the company advertises that its soups and sauces are made fresh in each location daily instead of importing them from a commissary or outside vendor.
Darden Restaurants, the owner of Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and seven other brands, is interested in adding another concept to its portfolio. “We’ll continue to look,” CEO Rick Cardenas said during the ICR investor conference. “It just takes a willing seller to sell for the price we’re willing to pay.
As of February 13, 2022, the company operates 900+ restaurants globally. There are eight locations in Canada, which are Winnipeg, Manitoba Calgary, Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Regina, Saskatchewan; and Langley, British Columbia near Vancouver.
