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Darden Restaurants buys Tex-Mex chain Chuy’s for $605 million
Read full article: Darden Restaurants buys Tex-Mex chain Chuy’s for $605 millionThe parent company of Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House and other chains says it's buying the Tex-Mex chain Chuy’s as it seeks to expand its dining options.
Free breadsticks and reasons for hope at Olive Garden
Read full article: Free breadsticks and reasons for hope at Olive GardenFILE - This June 27, 2016 file photo shows an Olive Garden restaurant in Methuen, Mass. Darden Restaurants said Thursday that every hourly restaurant worker will earn at least $10 per hour including tips as of Monday. At one point, same-store sales at Darden, a key reading in retail for the health of a company, plunged 75%. About 99% of Darden's dining rooms have since re-opened with at least partial capacity. AdIn the fiscal third quarter, which ended Feb. 28, Darden’s sales fell 26% to $1.73 billion, better than the $1.6 billion Wall Street had expected, according to FactSet.
New refrigerated truck delivers hundreds of meals to Seminole County families in need
Read full article: New refrigerated truck delivers hundreds of meals to Seminole County families in needALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida handed out hundreds of pounds of food in Altamonte Springs on Wednesday by using a brand-new refrigerated truck donated by Darden Restaurants. The truck was donated in January and on Wednesday, it made its first delivery. [WATCH: Darden Restaurants donates mobile pantry to Second Harvest Food Bank]Cars lined up as early as 6 a.m. outside the Apostolic Church of Jesus. Second Harvest Food Bank handed out 96 million meals throughout Central Florida within the last year. Works said the new truck will help them get even more food out to the community.
Darden Restaurants donates mobile pantry to Second Harvest food bank
Read full article: Darden Restaurants donates mobile pantry to Second Harvest food bankORLANDO, Fla. – Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida was one of five food banks across the country to receive a new mobile food pantry from Darden Restaurants. Officials with Second Harvest and Darden unveiled the new refrigerated box truck on Wednesday. The other food banks that also received a mobile food pantry are Feeding the Valley Food Bank in Midland, Georgia, Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana in Shreveport, Louisiana, Mid-South Food Bank in Memphis, Tennessee and San Antonio Food Bank in San Antonio, Texas. Krepcho said Second Harvest will use the mobile food pantry to target areas with high levels of food insecurity, including communities of color. Click here if you would like to donate to Second Harvest.
Orlando-based Darden Restaurants to offer workers paid time off for COVID-19 vaccinations
Read full article: Orlando-based Darden Restaurants to offer workers paid time off for COVID-19 vaccinationsORLANDO, Fla. – Darden Restaurants plans to give its hourly workers some paid time off to get a COVID-19 vaccine, once they become eligible. The Orlando-based company, which operates chains such as Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse, announced the paid time off in a release on Tuesday. The company said hourly workers will receive a total of two hours of pay for each dose of the vaccine and up to four hours of total pay for complete vaccination. Darden said the payment will be based on the worker’s total earnings, including tips, over the most recent 13 weeks. The company is not requiring vaccination as a condition of employment for hourly workers.
Asian shares extend gains after more Wall Street records
Read full article: Asian shares extend gains after more Wall Street recordsAsian shares logged strong gains on Wednesday after another round of record highs for major indexes on Wall Street. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)BEIJING – Asian shares logged strong gains on Wednesday after another round of record highs for major indexes on Wall Street. Shanghai edged lower after China reported that its consumer price index slipped 0.5% in November compared with a year earlier. It noted that core consumer price inflation, excluding volatile food and energy prices, was steady at 0.5% from a year earlier. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 1% to 26,743.52, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.2% to 26,609.17.
Darden restaurants trims leadership workforce
Read full article: Darden restaurants trims leadership workforceORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando-based Darden restaurant group eliminated its workforce by 11% this summer through restructuring and retirement incentives, according to the company’s recent earnings call. The company’s restaurant brands include Olive Garden, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Longhorn Steakhouse, Yard House and Eddie V’s Prime Seafood. Darden Restaurants closed all dining rooms at the end of March when the coronavirus was taking off in the U.S. According to the 2021 first-quarter results presentation, Darden conducted an 11% workforce reduction in July and August through a retirement incentive program and restructuring. Longhorn Steakhouse suffered the least between the same time last year and the 2021 first-quarter, according to the results.
Almost all Darden dining rooms open again amid coronavirus
Read full article: Almost all Darden dining rooms open again amid coronavirusOrlando-based Darden restaurant group has an optimistic outlook for the rest of the year despite the closure of its restaurants due to the coronavirus pandemic. Darden Restaurants closed all dining rooms at the end of March when the coronavirus was taking off in the U.S. As of June 22, 91% of Darden’s dining rooms were open with at least a limited capacity, according to the company. Throughout next year, Darden expects to open 35-40 net new restaurants. When our dining rooms closed, our operators did an amazing job of reimagining the guest experience by staying true to our back-to-basics operating philosophy,” Lee said in a statement.
Darden Restaurants create emergency plan to pay hourly employees amid coronavirus pandemic
Read full article: Darden Restaurants create emergency plan to pay hourly employees amid coronavirus pandemicORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando-based restaurant company Darden revealed it has an emergency plan to pay all of its employees through the coronavirus pandemic that has forced many businesses to close. “The health and safety of our team members, their families and our guests remains our top priority,” Lee said. Darden operates more than 1,700 restaurants and employees more than 180,000 people, according to the company’s website. Earlier this month, Darden created a paid sick leave program for its hourly employees. To keep up with the latest news on the pandemic, subscribe to News 6′s coronavirus newsletter or go to ClickOrlando.com/coronavirus.
Darden restaurants roll out paid sick leave for hourly employees
Read full article: Darden restaurants roll out paid sick leave for hourly employeesORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando-based restaurant company Darden announced Tuesday the company will now offer paid sick leave for every hourly employee across its 1,700 restaurants. Sick leave will be acquired at one hour per 30 hours worked, according to the email. New employees may use their sick leave after 90 days of employment. Darden restaurant employees will be able to carry over up to 40 hours a year with a maximum balance of 60 hours, according to the announcement. Darden employs more than 180,000 across 1,700 restaurants, according to its website.