ORLANDO, FLA. — Menu promotions and perceived value by consumers helped Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse increase same-restaurant sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2025, helping Darden Restaurants, Inc. increase its overall total sales by 6% compared to the prior-year period. 

Same-restaurant sales for Darden — led by Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House, and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen — rose 2.4%, supported by the addition of 103 recently acquired Chuy’s restaurants, and 39 net new restaurants. Olive Garden’s same-restaurant sales went up by 2%, while LongHorn Steakhouse increased 7.5%. 

Darden’s total sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 were $2.9 billion, up from $2.7 billion year-over year. Adjusted net earnings per share from continuing operations were $2.03, an increase of 10.3% compared to $1.84 a year ago. The company generated $445 million of adjusted EBITDA, returning $308 million to shareholders, paying $166 million in dividends on $142 million in share repurchases. Darden declared a second-quarter cash dividend of $1.40 per share on the company’s common stock, up from $1.31 per share year over year. 

Because of the upswing in earnings, Darden updated its 2025 fiscal outlook. Total sales for the rest of the year are now set at $12.1 billion, up from between $11.8 billion to $11.9 billion. Same-restaurant sales growth is targeted more specifically at 1.5%, compared to a previous range of 1% to 2%, and new restaurant openings are now expected between 50 and 55. 

“We had a strong quarter that met our expectations,” said Ricardo Cardenas, president, chief executive officer and director at Darden. “Same-restaurant sales at three of our four segments were positive, and all of our brands remain intensely focused on our back-to-basics operating philosophy, anchored in food, service and atmosphere. I was pleased that our four largest brands, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House and Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen all generated positive same-restaurant sales for the quarter.”

Olive Garden menu promotions

During the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Cardenas mentioned Olive Garden’s Never Ending Pasta Bowl promotion was a hit with many diners, who not only opted for more pasta refills, but also chose to add a protein to the dish for an upcharge. The promotion was so successful, Darden extended it four extra weeks past the initial cutoff date.

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The promotion led to Olive Garden increasing overall sales to $1.29 billion from $1.25 billion a year ago, and boosted year-to-date sales at the brand to $2.5 billion, from $2.47 billion year-over-year. On a two-year basis, Olive Garden has grown same-restaurant sales by over 6%.

“We had record preference for refills and record preference for the buy-up,” Cardenas said. “Never Ending Pasta Bowl featured a starting price point of $13.99, marking the third consecutive year at that price point and making it an even more compelling value for our guests.” 

Cardenas added that Olive Garden’s third quarter will feature the return of fan-favorite dishes steak gorgonzola, and stuffed chicken marsala, plus one additional dish that hasn’t been named yet. These items will be promoted as a limited-time offer to help bolster sales.

Another Olive Garden initiative to watch is its pilot program with Uber Eats, which is being tested in 100 Olive Garden restaurants. No word yet on when it will officially launch for the brand, but Cardenas said early indications are that it will be successful.

“The average order size (through Uber) is actually bigger than the average pickup order size — that was a bit of a surprise for us,” Cardenas said. “The real pleasant surprise is that about 15% of the orders have a catering item on it. Our existing catering delivery requires ordering prior to 5:00 p.m., the day before. So maybe guests are figuring out they can order these items closer to when they want them, if they don’t want the extra service they get from Olive Garden catering itself.”

LongHorn Steakhouse surges

Same-restaurant sales at LongHorn Steakhouse were 7.5% during the second quarter, up from 4.9% a year ago. Total sales for the brand rose to $710 million from $643 million the year prior, increasing the year-to-date sales total for LongHorn to $1.4 billion from $1.3 billion year-over-year.

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“We continue to make investments in food,” Cardenas said. “We put more dollars on the plate than anybody else in our space and guests noticed that value. Steak brands with strong operations that deliver in quality are winning. We think LongHorn is working on the right things.”

Cardenas added that part of LongHorn’s focus on quality and consistency during the second quarter was to host its first day-cutter summit with its beef suppliers from across the country to review LongHorn’s specifications and immerse their partners in the brand’s business and culture. The result, Cardenas said, was that all the beef supplier partners left the event in better position to consistently meet LongHorn’s expectations. 

Fine dining drop

One down note for Darden was its fine dining brands, which include Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Capital Grille and Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, collectively experienced a drop in same-restaurant sales, down 5.8% year over year. 

“Thanksgiving is a busy day for our fine-dining brands, and the shift of this holiday from the second quarter last year into the third quarter of this year, combined with the hurricanes (Helene and Milton) resulted in an approximately 200 basis points of negative impact to same-restaurant sales,” said Rajesh Vennam, chief financial officer and senior vice president. “Adjusted for these impacts, fine-dining same-restaurant sales decreased approximately 3.8%, which was a sequential improvement from the first quarter. The negative sales growth resulted in lower segment profit margin than last year.”