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Olive Garden

Financing

At Olive Garden, signs of a stronger consumer

 By Joe Guszkowski on Sep. 13, 2024

Traffic at the Italian casual-dining chain and its sister brands was positive for much of the summer, suggesting that value offers are working and customers are feeling more confident.

Operations

Lower-income consumers remain a problem for Olive Garden

 By Joe Guszkowski on Jun. 20, 2024

The Italian restaurant chain said it’s keeping prices low and doing more to promote value, including its bottomless breadsticks. But it refuses to jump on the discounting bandwagon to drive traffic.

Financing

Red Lobster needs a buyer. How does Darden sound?

By Peter Romeo on May 28, 2024

Reality Check: The casual dining giant sold Red Lobster in a cloud of controversy a decade ago. Here's why a return to the fold may not be as crazy as it sounds.

Financing

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

What can Bloomin' Brands expect from disgruntled shareholder Starboard Value?

By Peter Romeo on Aug. 22, 2023

Restaurant Rewind: There could be a preview in the pressure Starboard put on Bloomin' arch-rival Darden Restaurants nine years ago.

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