Olive Garden
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| Type | Wholly owned subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Casual dining |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Headquarters | Orange County, Florida, U.S. |
| Products | Italian-American cuisine Pasta, Salads |
| Parent | Darden Restaurants |
| Website | olivegarden.com |
Olive Garden is an American restaurant chain specializing in Italian-American cuisine. It is a subsidiary of Darden Restaurants, Inc., which is headquartered in unincorporated Orange County, Florida, near Orlando.[1] As of 2012, Olive Garden restaurants account for 45% of the sales generated by Darden.[2] Olive Garden operates more than 730 locations globally.
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[edit] History
The first Olive Garden was opened by General Mills on December 13, 1982, in Orlando. By 1989, General Mills had opened 145 restaurants, making it one of the fastest-growing units in the company's restaurant holdings. While not a critical success, it was popular, and its per-store sales soon matched sister company Red Lobster. The company eventually became the largest chain of Italian-themed full-service restaurants in the US.
General Mills spun off its restaurant holdings as Darden Restaurants, a stand-alone company, in 1995. Olive Garden is Darden's most value oriented chain with an average 2009 check per person of $15.00 (USD) versus over $90 (USD) at its sibling Capital Grille.[3]
Brad Blum, a former president of Olive Garden, said that sales in existing restaurants sharply decreased, with a 12% decline occurring at one point, even though the company was quickly establishing new restaurants.[4] Sandra Pedicini of McClatchy-Tribune Newspapers said that "Darden reinvented the Olive Garden in the 1990s, from a floundering chain into an industry star."[4]
As part of a February 2011 Darden analyst conference, the parent group announced it intended to add more than 200 Olive Garden locations in the following few years.[5] The announcement came after a previous announcement that the company would be expanding into potential new international markets for the chain, including the Middle East and Asia, due to the maturity of the North American market. The company also announced it would begin licensing franchising partnerships, a new direction for the chain and its parent which had traditionally relied on expansion via company owned locations exclusively.[6]
Parent company Darden also announced it was going to begin co-locating Olive Garden and sibling chain Red Lobster locations. The new format stores are designed for smaller market locations and will have separate entrances and dining areas but operate a single kitchen and support areas. The dining areas of the new format will be half the standard area found in more traditional Darden chains, but the actual building will be larger than stand alone operations of the chain. Menus will also remain separate, with customers only able to order from the location they are seated in.[7]
In 2010 Olive Garden generated $3.3 billion in sales. Its closest competitor, Carrabba's Italian Grill, had generated $650.5 million in sales during the same year. By 2012 sales had decreased at Olive Garden. At the final quarter of 2011, sales at established Olive Garden locations had decreased by 2.5%. Chris Muller, the dean of the hospitality school of Boston University and a former restaurant professor at the University of Florida, said "What does Olive Garden stand for now? I don't know what it stands for."[4] The Darden president and chief operating officer, said that Olive Garden at that point was "a beloved, but somewhat expected brand."[4] The company unveiled a three course meal for $12.95 offer in an effort to try to stop the decline.[8]
[edit] Locations
As of 2 February 2011[update], the company operates over 730 restaurants globally.[5] Most Canadian restaurants have been closed except for a few in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Calgary, Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta; and Langley, British Columbia.[citation needed]
Newer restaurants are styled after a farmhouse in the town of Castellina in Chianti, Tuscany, on the grounds of the Rocca delle Macie winery.[9] The farmhouse is home to the Riserva di Fizzano restaurant adjoining the company's Culinary Institute of Tuscany which was founded in 1999.[9][9][10][11]
[edit] Advertising
The original slogan for Olive Garden was "Good Times, Great Salad, Olive Garden". This was used when their main advertised product was the endless salad entree. When soup and bread sticks were added onto this menu item, the saying was changed to "When you're here, you're Family".
[edit] Cuisine
The menu is developed at its Tuscany Institute in Italy and is inspired by the local cuisine in the region.[11]
Olive Garden serves Italian-American cuisine including pasta dishes, steaks and salads. The company heavily advertises its bread stick product and centers its lunch menu around it. Additionally, the company advertises that its soups are made fresh in each location daily instead of importing them from a commissary or outside vendor.[10]
In June 2010, Olive Garden began to import parts of menu formats from its sibling chain Season-52; it began selling smaller desserts portions which it called "dolcini". These new products were modeled after Season-52's "mini-indulgences" product line.[12]
[edit] Tuscan Institute
Although Olive Garden advertises heavily of having a cooking institute in Tuscany, many news outlets have reported that, in fact, there is no institute or even school. Olive Garden does send all of its managers to Tuscany each year, but they stay in a rented hotel and spend only a few hours at a local restaurant in its off-season.[13][14][15][16]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ "Contact Information." Darden Restaurants. Retrieved on April 5, 2011. "Office Location: 1000 Darden Center Drive Orlando, FL 32837"
- ^ "Darden: Don’t Count Olive Garden Out, Says Goldman." Barron's. January 18, 2012. Retrieved on January 24, 2012.
- ^ Wong, Elaine (6 October 2009). "Why 'Deep Discounting' Is Not Always the Winning Recipe". Brandweek. p. 1. http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/retail-restaurants/e3if5d42373f4e4dac20554de9a1e1db414. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
- ^ a b c d Pedicini, Sandra. "Olive Garden tries to woo back customers after falling into a rut." McClatchy-Tribune Newspapers at Chicago Tribune. January 23, 2012. Retrieved on January 24, 2012.
- ^ a b Jennings, Lisa (2 February 2011). "Analyst targets possible Darden acquisitions". Nation's Restaurant News. http://www.nrn.com/article/analyst-targets-possible-darden-acquisitions. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
- ^ Ruggless, Ron (19 October 2011). "Darden aims for growth abroad". Nation's Restaurant News. http://www.nrn.com/article/darden-aims-growth-abroad. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
- ^ Pedicini, Sandra (24 January 2011). "Darden Restaurants tests combo Olive Garden/Red Lobster for smaller markets". Orlando Sentinel. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-01-24/business/os-hybrid-olive-garden-red-lobster-20110124_1_red-lobster-olive-garden-darden-restaurants. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
- ^ Pedicini, Sandra. "Olive Garden unveils $12.95 three-course meal." Orlando Sentinel. January 23, 2012. Retrieved on January 24, 2012.
- ^ a b c Prewitt, Milford (1 November 1999). "Olive Garden plants roots in Tuscany, opens culinary school". Nation's Restaurant News. p. 1. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_44_33/ai_57443858/?tag=content;col1. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
- ^ a b Dickerman, Sara (6 September 2002). "Battle of the Middlebrow Chains". Slate. http://www.slate.com/id/2070456/. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
- ^ a b Wong, Elaine (6 October 2009). "Why 'Deep Discounting' Is Not Always the Winning Recipe". Brandweek. p. 2. http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/retail-restaurants/e3if5d42373f4e4dac20554de9a1e1db414?pn=2. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
- ^ Pedicini, Sandra (29 June 2010). "Olive Garden menu changes include Seasons 52-style mini-desserts". Orlando Sentinel. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-06-29/business/os-olive-garden-menu-changes-20100629_1_mini-indulgences-olive-garden-orlando-based-darden-restaurants. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
- ^ "What Actually Goes On at Olive Garden’s ‘Culinary Institute’ in Tuscany? - TIME NewsFeed". Newsfeed.time.com. 2011-04-15. http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/04/15/what-actually-goes-on-at-olive-gardens-culinary-institute-in-tuscany/. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
- ^ Best, Jason (2011-04-14). "The Truth Behind Olive Garden's "Tuscan" Cooking School". Slashfood. http://www.slashfood.com/2011/04/14/the-truth-behind-the-olive-gardens-tuscan-cooking-school/. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
- ^ "Petty controversy: Olive Garden's 'outrageous' cooking school sham". The Week. 2011-04-21. http://theweek.com/article/index/214459/petty-controversy-olive-gardens-outrageous-cooking-school-sham. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
- ^ Seth Abramovitch (2011-04-20). "Olive Garden's Culinary Institute is a Sham". Gawker.com. http://gawker.com/5793849/olive-gardens-culinary-institute-is-a-sham. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
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