Overview
Darden Restaurants Inc. is a U.S.-based full-service restaurant company operating a portfolio of dining brands, including Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Capital Grille and Yard House. Its restaurants serve a range of food and beverages, from Italian-American dishes and steaks to seafood and other full-service dining offerings.[1][2][3]
At the end of fiscal 2026, Darden owned and operated 2,202 restaurants in the United States, and its total footprint was 2,373 restaurants across 18 countries, including franchised and third-party-operated locations.[4][5] It reported fiscal 2026 sales of approximately $13.2 billion and more than 200,000 team members.[6][7] Darden describes its purpose as “nourishing and delighting everyone it serves” and its mission as achieving financial success through great people delivering outstanding food, drinks and service in an inviting atmosphere.[8] [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][7][8]
Products & services
As of May 31, 2026, Darden operated restaurants under 11 brands: Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, The Capital Grille, Chuy’s, Seasons 52, Eddie V’s, Bahama Breeze, and The Capital Burger. Its menus range from Olive Garden’s Italian dishes, imported wines, and entrées served with unlimited soup or salad and breadsticks to LongHorn’s steaks and other grilled entrées, and Yard House’s American menu and selection of more than 100 draft beers.[9][10][2][11][3][12]
Other brand-specific offerings include Cheddar’s scratch-cooked American dishes; Ruth’s Chris steaks served sizzling; The Capital Grille’s on-premises dry-aged steaks, wine selection, and private dining; and Seasons 52’s seasonally changing menu, with items under 595 calories.[13][14][15][16][17] Olive Garden offers dine-in, To Go pickup or delivery, and catering pickup or delivery, subject to location availability.[18][19] For fiscal 2026, reported sales were $5.595 billion for Olive Garden (about 42.3% of consolidated sales), $3.423 billion for LongHorn (25.9%), $1.376 billion for Fine Dining (10.4%), and $2.817 billion for Other Business (21.3%). Fine Dining combines Ruth’s Chris, The Capital Grille, and Eddie V’s; Other Business combines several brands and other activities, so these figures are not individual-brand sales shares.[20][21][22] [9][10][2][11][3][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][18][19]
Geographic presence
Darden’s FY2026 restaurant footprint comprised 2,373 locations: 2,202 company-operated restaurants in the United States, 87 U.S. franchised restaurants, 80 international franchised restaurants, and four additional U.S. Ruth’s Chris restaurants listed separately in its footprint table. International franchises were located in Latin America (36), Canada (14), Asia (23), the Middle East (4), Europe (1), and the Caribbean (2); the filing lists no company-operated international locations.[4][23]
The company’s principal executive office is in Orlando, Florida. The FY2026 filing reports consolidated sales and total team-member numbers, but does not provide geographic breakdowns of sales or employees.[24][25][26] [4][4][4][4][4][4][4][4][4][4][24][25][26][23]
Business segments
Darden reports four reportable segments. In FY2026, Olive Garden, comprising U.S. company-owned Olive Garden restaurants, generated about 42.3% of consolidated sales; LongHorn Steakhouse, comprising U.S. company-owned LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants, contributed about 25.9%.[27][20]
Fine Dining includes U.S. company-owned Ruth’s Chris, The Capital Grille, and Eddie V’s restaurants, and contributed about 10.4% of FY2026 sales. Other Business includes U.S. company-owned Yard House, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Chuy’s, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, and The Capital Burger, as well as franchise royalties and fees from contractually managed locations; it contributed about 21.3%.[27][20]
Darden identifies its individual restaurant brands as operating segments and aggregates them into the four reportable segments. Corporate is shown separately in segment disclosures but is not a fifth reportable segment.[27][28] [27][20][28]
Company history
Darden’s origins date to 1938, when 19-year-old Bill Darden opened The Green Frog, a small luncheonette in Waycross, Georgia. In 1968, Darden and Charley Woodsby opened the first Red Lobster in Lakeland, Florida, marking the start of the seafood restaurant chain.[29][30]
Olive Garden opened its first restaurant in Orlando in 1982. General Mills spun off its restaurant division in 1995, establishing Darden Restaurants as an independent company. Darden subsequently launched Bahama Breeze in 1996 and Seasons 52 in 2003.[31][32][33][34]
From 2007 through 2012, Darden expanded its portfolio through acquisitions, including RARE Hospitality, which brought LongHorn Steakhouse and The Capital Grille, followed by Eddie V’s in 2011 and Yard House in 2012. In 2014, Darden sold Red Lobster to Golden Gate Capital. More recent additions include Ruth’s Chris Steak House, acquired in 2023, and Chuy’s, acquired in 2024.[35][3][36][37][38][14][39][40] [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][3][36][37][38][14][39][40][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][37][38]
Sources
- DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC — Full financial report (2026 Y)
- DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC — Presentation (2026 Y)[5]
- www.darden.com[7]
- www.darden.com[8]
- www.olivegarden.com[18]
- www.olivegarden.com[19]
- www.sec.gov[23]
- www.darden.com[29]
- www.redlobster.com[30]
- investor.darden.com[31]
- investor.darden.com[32]
- investor.darden.com[33]
- investor.darden.com[34]
- investor.darden.com[35]
- investor.darden.com[37]
- investor.darden.com[38]
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