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Capital Grille

Financing

Darden's Q4 margins outstrip pre-COVID levels despite below-inflation pricing

 By Peter Romeo on Jun. 23, 2022

The parent of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse said its ongoing effort to simplify operations lowered labor costs.

Consumer Trends

Casual dining's traffic is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, study finds

 By Peter Romeo on Jul. 16, 2021

The sector's customer counts should top 2019 levels by the end of summer, according to the report.

Workforce

Olive Garden's parent company raises pay as sales rebound

By Peter Romeo on Mar. 25, 2021

Darden Restaurants says it will reward hourly employees with $17 million in bonuses while raising its pay scale to $12 an hour.

Workforce

Olive Garden's parent sets a policy on employee vaccinations

By Peter Romeo on Jan. 26, 2021

Darden Restaurants will provide four hours of paid time for getting the anti-COVID shots, but will not require the inoculations

Marketing

Restaurants are pushing gift card sales, but consumers are slower to respond

By Patricia Cobe on Dec. 04, 2020

Operators are counting on holiday gift cards to boost revenue but sales are down.

Financing

Darden sees no virtual concepts in its future

By Peter Romeo on Sep. 25, 2020

The emotional connection and controls on execution just aren’t there, according to its CEO.

Workforce

Olive Garden's owner lays off 11% of support staff

By Peter Romeo on Sep. 24, 2020

Included were 225 Darden employees who opted for early retirement and former COO Dave George, whose departure was described as an “involuntary separation.”

Financing

Ruth's Chris finds healthier margins in the pandemic's limitations

By Peter Romeo on Aug. 03, 2020

Restaurants that kept dining rooms open in June saw year-over-year improvement.

Operations

Darden's operations specialist Dave George to retire

By Peter Romeo on Jun. 25, 2020

The former chief of Olive Garden, LongHorn and Capital Grille has been instrumental in the casual-dining giant's success.

Operations

Surge in Olive Garden’s to-go volume holds unit sales slide to 44.8%

By Peter Romeo on Apr. 20, 2020

The Darden Restaurants chain is now generating takeout and delivery sales at an annualized rate of $2.8 million per store.

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