A warm welcome and familiar smile. Delicious Italian foods always served piping hot. A glass of wine imported from Italy to complement your dining experience. Knowing you want to return again and again.

That is Hospitaliano! It is our passion for 100% guest delight. It is also our strong commitment to helping our people sharpen and advance their skills through extensive training and development opportunities.

This keen focus, plus setting incredibly high standards and treating everyone with respect, have led to impressive operating performance at Olive Garden:

• Our same-restaurant sales increase of 10.6% in the fourth quarter demonstrated strong momentum and marked the 15th consecutive quarter of increases, far outpacing the highly competitive casual dining industry this past fiscal year.
• Significant guest-count increases helped annual operating profit rise at a healthy double-digit pace, establishing another all-time record and almost tripling operating profit from just three years ago.
• A new advertising campaign, "When You're Here, You're Family," showcases our unique form of Italian hospitality to the general public and reinforces the desired behaviors we work to instill in all our restaurant teams.

"This has been an outstanding year in so many ways," says Brad Blum, President of Olive Garden. "I can't say enough about the leadership of our restaurant teams and the tireless efforts they have made to provide Hospitaliano to our guests."

Our Vino Riserva Italian Wine Service is quickly becoming an integral part of the Olive Garden culture, enhancing our guests' dining experience and boosting beverage sales.

Exciting new menu items such as Chicken Scampi, Seafood Portofino and Stuffed Chicken Parmigiana, combined with a commitment to serve piping hot food to every guest, have invigorated our longtime patrons and attracted new customers.

As we establish this operating excellence in our 466 restaurants, identify unique industry-leading innovations and continue to showcase our Italian heritage, we are confident Olive Garden will be the choice for Italian - well into the next millennium.