Olive Garden

Lower-income consumers pull back at Olive Garden

By Joe Guszkowski on Mar. 21, 2024

Guests earning less than $75,000 are visiting the casual-dining chain much less than last year, parent Darden Restaurants said Thursday.

Operations

Early birds are perking up traffic at Olive Garden

By Joe Guszkowski on Mar. 19, 2024

More customers are visiting the Italian casual-dining chain in the late afternoon and early evening, which has helped lift transactions, according to data from Placer.ai.

Operations

Dave George is tapped for another operations-led revival, this time of Outback's parent

By Peter Romeo on Jan. 03, 2024

The former Darden Restaurants operations specialist will serve on Bloomin' Brands board and lead an "Operating Committee" to revive the casual-dining giant.

Marketing

Olive Garden launches a holiday merchandise collection starring its iconic cheese graters

By Reyna Estrada on Nov. 16, 2023

Marketing Bites: Olive Garden, Sonic and Jimmy John’s launch holiday merchandise collections. Velvet Taco is giving away free tacos for a year to one lucky diner. And Wendy’s brings back its Frosty Key Tag fundraiser.

Consumer Trends

Want to see how the other half lives? Go to Olive Garden.

By Joe Guszkowski on Oct. 09, 2023

Full-service restaurant chains are the most socioeconomically diverse places in the U.S., according to new research. It could help them weather a tough economy.

Operations

Olive Garden owner says customers are 'resilient' but 'more selective'

By Joe Guszkowski on Sep. 21, 2023

Some are opting for less-expensive wines and entrees, executives said during a wide-ranging earnings call that also touched on student loans, California’s wage bill and Ozempic.

Operations