Darden Restaurants, Inc.
Explore Darden Restaurants
Core profile pages, annual revenue records, and related research hubs for this company.
Darden Restaurants, Inc.
Explore Darden Restaurants
Core profile pages, annual revenue records, and related research hubs for this company.
Company History
Founded 1938 in Orlando, Florida
Bill Darden opened The Green Frog in Georgia in 1938 and later founded Red Lobster in 1968. General Mills acquired Red Lobster in 1970, launched Olive Garden in 1982, and spun off Darden Restaurants as an independent public company in 1995.
Bill Darden opens The Green Frog in Waycross, Georgia, establishing the hospitality roots later tied to the Darden name.
Bill Darden opens the first Red Lobster in Lakeland, Florida, creating the seafood chain that becomes the foundation of the future company.
General Mills acquires Red Lobster and gives the brand capital and systems to expand nationally.
General Mills opens the first Olive Garden, which later becomes Darden's largest restaurant brand.
General Mills spins off its restaurant business as Darden Restaurants, an independent public company.
Darden sells Red Lobster and refocuses around Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and specialty dining brands.
Darden acquires Ruth's Hospitality Group, adding Ruth's Chris Steak House to the fine-dining portfolio.
Darden completes the acquisition of Chuy's, adding a Tex-Mex brand to the portfolio.
Darden reports $13.2109B in FY2026 sales and 2,202 company-owned restaurants at year-end.
Added LongHorn Steakhouse and The Capital Grille, giving Darden stronger steakhouse exposure across casual and fine-dining occasions.
Added Eddie V's Prime Seafood and The Wildfish Seafood Grille to expand Darden's higher-ticket seafood and steakhouse presence.
Expanded Darden into polished casual dining with a high-energy bar, beer, and broad-menu concept.
Added a value-oriented casual dining brand focused on scratch cooking and broad family appeal.
Added Ruth's Chris Steak House and expanded Darden's premium steakhouse exposure.
Added a Tex-Mex casual dining concept and new restaurant development option.
Darden traces its roots to Bill Darden's 1938 restaurant and the 1968 founding of Red Lobster; the public company was spun off in 1995.
The 1995 spin-off made Darden an independent public restaurant company, while later portfolio moves sharpened focus around Olive Garden, LongHorn, and specialty dining.
Darden grew by scaling Olive Garden, building LongHorn, acquiring restaurant brands, and applying shared operating systems across company-owned restaurants.
This Darden history page covers the company's restaurant roots, public-company era, acquisitions, and current FY2026 scale.