Consumer
Olive Garden Refuses to Make Its Pasta Cheaper, Shunning Restaurant Price War
- Darden won’t cut prices to improve sales, bucking competitors
- Restaurant chains escalate price war with meals as low as $3
An Olive Garden restaurant in Pittsburg, California.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Olive Garden is refusing to join chains such as McDonald’s Corp. in offering steep discounts to attract struggling consumers, saying it’s a less sustainable way to boost sales.
Darden Restaurants Inc., which owns nine chains including Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, has kept price hikes below inflation but won’t join peers in promoting value meals as a way to fix a lingering pullback among lower-income diners.