Olive Garden Has New Way To Lure You In
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ORLANDO (CBSMiami/AP) — Some people have said the best part about going to Olive Garden is the endless breadsticks.
Well, the company listened and decided to try something a little different. So beginning June 1st they will use their breadsticks to make chicken parmigiana and meatball sandwiches.
Justin Sikora, with Darden Restaurant Inc. which owns the restaurant chain, said the breadsticks used for the sandwiches will be a bit shorter and wider than the regular breadsticks.
As with all other dishes, the sandwiches come with unlimited breadsticks.
The addition of the breadstick sandwiches are just the latest attempt to revamp Olive Garden's menu and marketing as sales have declined for the past three of its fiscal years.
Olive Garden's unlimited breadsticks gained attention last year during a dispute with an investor, Starboard Value. Among other criticisms, Starboard said Darden was giving away too many breadsticks to customers. It also said the quality of the breadsticks seemed to have declined and compared them to hot dog buns.
Shortly after, Starboard won its bid to take control of Darden's board.
On Sunday, Starboard CEO Jeff Smith said during an interview on "Wall Street Week" that "it might surprise people that I actually like the breadsticks," and mentioned the plans to introduce breadstick sandwiches.
Smith also stressed that Starboard's criticism about the breadsticks was that Olive Garden wasn't following its own policy for how many breadsticks are placed on tables at a time.
As for the quality of the breadsticks, Sikora said the recipe for them hasn't changed. Sikora said the breadstick sandwiches are an example of the Olive Garden building on its most popular offerings.
The sandwiches will be available only on the chain's lunch menu. The meatball sandwich will cost $6.99 and the chicken parmigiana will cost $7.99, Sikora said.
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