Olive Garden

About Olive Garden

Olive Garden is a casual dining American restaurant chain specializing in Italian-American food. It bills itself as a traditional family restaurant with Old World-inspired dishes. The first Olive Garden opened on December 13, 1982, in Orlando, Florida, and there are presently 657 locations throughout the United States. The chain formerly operated locations in Canada, but these no longer exist. At least some of the former Canadian locations have been converted to East Side Mario's restaurants.

The first Olive Garden concept store was opened in Orlando by General Mills in 1982. The chain took off, and by 1989 General Mills had opened over 145 stores, making it one of the fastest-growing units in the company's restaurant holdings. While the company did not meet critical success, it was popular, and its per-store sales soon grew to match those of sister company Red Lobster. The company eventually became the largest chain of Italian-themed full-service restaurants in the U.S. Olive Garden is currently owned by Darden Restaurants, Inc., which was spun off from General Mills in 1995.

Olive Garden restaurants are an Italian style, utilizing foliage in their decor, stucco walls, and background music consisting of Italian themes.