$100 Olive Garden pasta pass sparks resale headache

In the wake of Olive Garden's highly successful promotion for never-ending pasta, the Italian chain faces what might be called a high-quality problem.

More than 50 of the 1,000 pasta passes are drawing bids on online auction site eBay for multiples of the original $100 purchase price even though the restaurant stipulates on its site that they are "non-transferable and may not be re-sold."

In light of this, the company faces a dilemma: it can either enforce the fine print and risk making some second-hand buyers or sellers mad, or bend the rules and not risk alienating customers.
So far, the company has chosen the first path.

Read the Full Article

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Financing

For Papa Johns, the CEO departure came at the wrong time

The Bottom Line: The pizza chain worked to convince franchisees to buy into a massive marketing shift. And then the brand’s CEO left.

Trending

More from our partners