Uber to provide delivery for Olive Garden in new partnership

Darden Restaurants will start delivering Olive Garden food via Uber later this year.

The corporate parent of the Italian chain and other restaurant brands said Thursday that it will do that as part of an "exclusive multi-year" delivery partnership it now has with Uber.

The deal "will enable restaurant guests to order on-demand delivery via Darden restaurant channels, with delivery handled by Uber Direct, through Uber’s national delivery network," Darden said in a press release.

Later this year, Darden said Uber will initially deliver Olive Garden food from a "limited number" of locations to customer’s doorsteps.

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It aims to widen the Uber Direct first-party delivery beyond the pilot to offering it for all Olive Gardens by May of next year, Darden said.

There are hundreds of Olive Garden restaurants nationwide.

"Guests have been asking us for home delivery options, and they continue to show they are willing to pay for the convenience," Darden CEO Rick Cardenas said in a Thursday statement. "As we continued to evaluate delivery, it was important for us to find a way to address this guest need state without disrupting the team member or guest experience and without compromising our competitive advantages and simple operating model." 

Darden will charge Olive Garden customers the same for their food whether they choose dine-in, to-go or delivery, Cardenas told investors during the company’s earnings call. He indicated the offerings would be on par with what the chain currently sells for takeout orders.

"The added cost for delivery will be transparent to the guest, and with Uber’s technology platform, guests will be able to track their order all the way to their delivery address," he added.

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"On-demand delivery is increasingly a core expectation for consumers," Uber Eats Head of Americas and Vice President of Delivery Sarfraz Maredia said in a statement. "People also expect a great experience, especially when it's from a brand they love like Olive Garden, and that doesn't change whether it's at the restaurant or at home. We're confident our teams can deliver on that promise together and continue to grow first-party delivery as a channel."

Prior to sealing the partnership with Uber, Cardenas said Darden had started engaging in "more serious discussions" about Uber Direct with the rideshare company in the spring. 

Uber first launched Uber Direct in 2020.

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Darden sees the Uber Direct delivery partnership as an incremental long-term sales driver, according to Cardenas. 

In the first-quarter, Olive Garden generated a total of $1.2 billion in sales and $249 million in profits for Darden, representing year-over-year decreases of 1.5% and 5%, respectively.  As a whole, Darden saw $2.76 billion in sales and $207.6 million in net earnings across all of its various restaurant brands.

Olive Garden has been in business since the 1980s.