In the landscape of popular restaurant chains, Olive Garden has always held a unique place in people’s hearts. The establishment has been delivering its take on Italian cuisine for several decades now, and has developed a reputation that when people dine at the restaurant, they’re “family.” Unfortunately, it seems like one aspect of that family-centric experience might soon be going away for good. According to a new report from Business Insider, Olive Garden might soon be permanently doing away with its Never Ending Pasta Bowl promotion. The deal has not been in place at Olive Garden restaurants since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and apparently, the financial risk of the deal might not be worthwhile, as the company has had improved sales compared to the last time the deal was in place.
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As the name would suggest, the Never Ending Pasta Bowl would allow customers to get unlimited portions of pasta and sauce, as well as unlimited soup or salad and breadsticks, for the low price of $10.99. Diehard fans of the idea could also buy the Never Ending Pasta Pass for $100, and enter to win the Lifetime Pasta Pass for $500.
According to the most recent earnings announced by Olive Garden’s parent company, Darden, Olive Garden’s 2021 sales were up 5.9% over the same period in 2019, and 29% over the same period in 2020. Incoming CEO Ricardo Cardenas confirmed the profits are better than the previous pre-COVID time that the Never Ending Pasta promotion was run, and that while the promotion brought in customers, the amount of food offered for a fixed price would ultimately lose the company money. The company does currently have its Never Ending Soup, Salad, and Breadsticks promotion in place.
“We’re really proud of the fact that we comped over two years ago without Never Ending Pasta Bowl running,” Cardenas explained. “As we look forward, we don’t know if we’ll bring and when we’ll bring Never-Ending Pasta Bowl back because we have a never-ending abundance every day with our never-ending first course.”
What do you think of Olive Garden potentially doing away with the Never Ending Pasta Bowl promotion? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
