Ron Ruggless

1 week ago | nrn.com | Ron Ruggless

Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants Inc., which completed its first full quarter with Uber Direct delivery, promoted its buy-one-take-one offer for the first time in five years and, with off-premises sales, reached records in the fourth quarter, the company said Friday. The Orlando, Fla.-based casual-dining company, which released earnings for the quarter ended May 25, said the continued strength of off-premises sales were driven, in part, by the delivery platform.

1 week ago | nrn.com | Ron Ruggless

Darden Restaurants Inc. on Friday said Dan Kiernan, president of its 935-unit Olive Garden brand, will retire Aug. 31 and, as of June 18, the board has approved John Wilkerson, president of Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, as his successor. The Orlando, Fla.-based company said Wilkerson, a 30-year Darden veteran, will work with Kiernan until his retirement to ensure a smooth transition, company executives said Friday.

1 week ago | nrn.com | Ron Ruggless

Darden Restaurants Inc. will sell or convert its 28 remaining Bahama Breeze restaurants, executives said Friday. Orlando, Fla.-based Darden, which released earnings for the fourth quarter ended May 25, closed 15 Bahama Breeze restaurants in May along with a few other brand locations. “We have made the difficult decision that these remaining locations and the Bahama Breeze brand are not a strategic priority for us,” Rick Cardenas, president and CEO of Darden, said on an earnings call.

1 week ago | restaurant-hospitality.com | Ron Ruggless

Her family says her light ‘radiated far beyond those she knew’Anne Burrell, the chef known for her signature spiky platinum hair, died Tuesday, June 17, at her home in Brooklyn, N.Y. She was 55. People magazine reported that she is survived by her husband, Stuart Claxton, whom she married Oct. 16, 2021, and his son, Javier; her mother, Marlene; her sister Jane; her children, Isabella, Amelia, and Nicolas; and her brother, Ben.

1 week ago | nrn.com | Ron Ruggless

Pizza Inn, the pizza buffet concept, opened its first restaurant in Egypt in late May as part of a seven-store master franchise agreement with Al Ruwad Hospitality Services & Restaurants Management Group, the company said this week. Dallas-based Rave said the Egypt location highlights its international growth strategy.