Darden Restaurants
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Darden Restaurants, Incorporated | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Public (NYSE: DRI) |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Headquarters | 5900 Lake Ellenor Dr. Orlando, FL 32809 |
| Key people | Clarence Otis, Jr., Chairman and CEO Andrew H. "Drew" Madsen COO Valerie K. "Val" Collins CIO/SVP Richard Monroe, Executive Vice President |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Revenue | ▲ $5.567 billionUSD (2007)[1] |
| Operating income | ▲ $530.8 million USD (2007)[1] |
| Net income | ▼ $201.4 million USD (2007)[1] |
| Employees | 156,500 (2007)[1] |
| Website | Darden.com |
Darden Restaurants, Inc. is a multi-brand restaurant operator. The firm owns several casual dining restaurant chains, most notably Red Lobster and Olive Garden. Darden owns and operates more than 1,700 restaurant locations throughout North America and has more than 157,000 employees, making it the world's largest restaurant operator in terms of revenue. Darden does not franchise its restaurants in the United States, but many of its international locations are not under corporate control.[2][1]
Contents |
[edit] History
What would become to be known as Darden Restaurants began when William (Bill) Darden founded the Red Lobster Inns of America and opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida in 1968.[3] Mr. Darden chose Lakeland because he wished to see how the concept would fare in a non-coastal region, and Lakeland was the innermost city in Florida. The store became hugely successful and by 1970 had expanded to three locations in the state with two more under construction. While the locations were profitable, the company lacked the resources to expand further, so Mr. Darden sold the company to food giant General Mills that year. General Mills upgraded the chain to a more casual dining/family fare oriented format, opened a new corporate headquarters in Orlando, Florida and installed Darden as company president. In 1975, when Darden was promoted to the position of Vice President of operations for the restaurant unit, Joseph (Joe) R. Lee, the companies first restaurant manger, was made President of Red Lobster.[4]
Under General Mills, Red Lobster grew into a successful chain of almost 400 locations by 1985. The company underwent several restructurings and transformed itself from an inexpensive fast-food seller into a chain of casual dining seafood restaurants by 1988.[4]
[edit] Diversification
One of the companies first venture into the diversification of its portfolio was the York Steak House chain of English-themed steak and chop restaurants in the 1970s. The franchised steak and potatoes restaurant was a cafeteria style affair with salad bar and hot station. By the end of the 1980s, the chain had been mostly closed down, however some independent locations still exist.[5][6]
In 1982, opened the first Olive Garden concept store in Orlando. The chain took off, and by 1989 General Mills had opened over 145 stores, making the chain the fastest-growing unit in the company's restaurant holdings. While Olive Garden did not meet critical success, it was popular, and its per-store sales soon grew to match those of Red Lobster. The company eventually became the largest chain of Italian-themed full-service restaurants in the U.S. The company helped bolster its Italian bona fides opening the Culinary Institute of Tuscany in Tuscany, Italy, a training facility designed to allow its chefs to become fluent in Italian cuisine in an authentic Italian setting.[4]
China Coast was an attempt to create a (U.S.) national casual dining restaurant that featured American Chinese cuisine. While the chain eventually expanded to some 50 restaurants, its sale were lackluster and lost an estimated $20 million USD. By the end of 1995, the company was shuttered, and the remaining locations were either converted to Red Lobsters or Olive Gardens or closed altogether.[4][7]
Bahama Breeze features a Caribbean theme, food and drinks found in the islands of the Caribbean Sea. Created in 1996.[3]
Smokey Bones is a sports bar concept featuring barbecue and related foodstuffs in an Appalachian mountain-lodge setting. Created in 2000.
Seasons 52 created in 2003
Rocky River Grill House (2006 - 2007)
[edit] Acquisitions
In August 2007, Darden acquired rival Atlanta-based restaurant holder Rare Hospitality for $1.4 billion USD, gaining Rare's two chains, the Capital Grille and LongHorn Steakhouse. Unlike Darden, Rare franchised its LongHorn concept and has not announced plans beyond executive structure.[8]
LongHorn Steakhouse (2007)
The Capital Grille (2007)
[edit] Divestiture
By the end of its fiscal year in 1995, Red Lobster was operating 1,250 stores in 49 states and Canada.
Darden Restaurants was spun off from General Mills beginning on May 9, 1995 when it began trading on when-issue basis at $9.75 a share.[9] The company became a fully separate entity on May 31, 1995 when its shares went on sale on the NYSE. The shares opened at $10.75, 17% below expectations, but climbed to $11.125 by the close of trading.[10]
In December 2007, Darden announced that it will be selling its Smokey Bones chain to Barbeque Integrated, Inc., an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc., for approximately $80 million. The sale was completed in January, 2008.[11][3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Joe Bramhall. Darden Restaurants, Inc. Hoover's. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
- ^ DRI publication. Darden is the largest casual dining restaurant owner in the world.. Darden Restaurants, Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
- ^ a b c MarketWatch.com. Darden Restaurants, Inc.. The New York Time. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
- ^ a b c d Darden Restaurants. Answers.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
- ^ Sam Reading (2003-12-26). York Steak House photo galley. Smugmug.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
- ^ Travel guide listing for York Steak House in Columbus, Ohio. Mytravelguide.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
- ^ Darden to close its China Coast Restaurants. The New York Times (1995-10-23). Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
- ^ Rare Hospitality sold to Orlando company for $1.4 billion. Atlanta Business Chronicle (2007-08-13). Retrieved on 2007-12-11. “Darden Restaurants Inc., the owner of Red Lobster, Bahama Breeze and Olive Garden, has bought Rare Hospitality International Inc. for $38.15 a share, or $1.4 billion.”
- ^ General Mills dips as spinoff opens at low price. The New York Times (1995-05-12). Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
- ^ Darden Shares Begin Trading. The New York Times (1995-05-31). Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
- ^ Darden Restaurants closes on sale of Smokey Bones chain. The Orlando Sentinel (2008-01-04). Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||
