Olive Garden

Darden CEO Gene Lee is so proud of Olive Garden’s curbside business that he’d put it up against the best drive-thrus the quick-service industry has to offer.

As the calendar flips on a tumultuous year for full-service restaurants, operators are starting to plot where COVID-19 innovation falls into the 2021 picture.

Leading up to COVID-19, customer satisfaction was on the downswing for restaurants. You could likely credit this to several factors. Digital and convenience gaining relevance.

Over the summer, Brinker International, Bloomin’ Brands, and Dine Brands dipped into virtual waters.

Darden CEO Gene Lee said employees are the company’s greatest competitive advantage. 

Restaurateurs and industry experts have continually asked this question throughout the COVID-19 catastrophe: What disruptions will become permanent?

Darden announced Tuesday that dine-in traffic at flagship brands Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse has led to an improvement of more than 10 percentage points in same-store sales. ...

Darden Monday provided that latest update into its COVID-19-impacted business. For the fourth quarter through April 19, the company’s same-store sales declined 44.7 percent.

Darden has managed to keep 99 percent of its restaurants open during the COVID-19 crisis, but remarkable conditions have taken a heavy swipe at sales.

Darden CEO Gene Lee didn’t pretend it was business as usual.