Olive Garden loses its spot as top US casual dining restaurant after 7 years: report
Olive Garden spent seven years as America's top fast casual chain, but a resurgence in Texas Roadhouse's popularity pushed the steakhouse chain ahead of its Italian-style competitor.
Texas Roadhouse has replaced Olive Garden as America’s top casual dining chain. The two chains were followed by Chili’s, Applebee’s and Buffalo Wild Wings. Olive Garden had held the title since 2018, but a resurgence in Texas Roadhouse’s popularity has pushed the casual steakhouse ahead.
Last year, Texas Roadhouse reportedly saw a 14.7% increase in sales, pulling in $5.5 billion, according to Restaurant Business, which cited Technomic’s ranking of the top 500 largest restaurant chains in the country. On its website, Texas Roadhouse says there are 722 restaurant locations, likely including those outside the U.S.
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Meanwhile, Olive Garden saw a 0.8% increase in sales in 2024, bringing in $5.2 billion from its more than 920 locations across the country. According to Restaurant Business, despite bringing back never-ending pasta and other promotions, the Italian chain only saw a fraction of its 8.8% surge in 2023.
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Texas Roadhouse, Chili’s and LongHorn Steakhouse saw larger boosts in sales than their counterparts, despite struggles in the industry. Chili’s, which was ranked third, saw a 15% increase in sales, while LongHorn Steakhouse, which came in sixth place, experienced a 7.2% sales bump. Four other restaurants on the list — Applebee’s, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster and Red Robin — saw decreases in sales, with Red Lobster seeing the largest drop at -22.7%, according to Restaurant Business, which cited Technomic.
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As Americans struggled to make ends meet, restaurants across the country began pushing promotions to luer in customers. However, this nearly led to the end of Red Lobster, which suffered tremendous losses from its "Endless Shrimp" deal. Red Lobster's new CEO, Damola Adamolekun, said the deal caused "chaos" and "stress" for employees.
Fox Business has reached out to both Texas Roadhouse and Olive Garden regarding the rankings.
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