They said it couldn't be done: matching a dinner-house concept against the independently-owned restaurants that were the mainstay of Italian dining. But Darden's homegrown concept, Olive Garden, proved the skeptics wrong.
Growing even faster than Red Lobster, Olive Garden exceeded $500 million in sales only five years after the decision was made to expand. Just three years later, in 1994, sales had doubled to more than $1 billion. Today, Olive Garden is the largest company of casual, full-service Italian restaurants in the world.
At the heart of Olive Garden's success is its unique Hospitaliano! culture. Much more than a slogan, Hospitaliano! expresses the Olive Garden team's passion for offering guests more than they expect and being committed to doing it right the first time. "When you're here, you're family!" |
