Big Changes At Olive Garden & North Dakotans Will Be Impacted

Olive Garden has always been one of my family's favorite restaurant destinations.

There are over 700 Olive Garden restaurants nationwide, including one each in our four major cities of Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, and one here in north Bismarck at 3400, north 14th Street.

There's no doubt, these are very tough times for restaurants.

Not only for sit-down family restaurants but fast food chains are hurting too.  Closings and rumors of closings happen just about weekly.

More and more people are staying home to spend less money by cooking at home. There was a time when shopping at a grocery store and preparing a meal at home would be a significant savings.  Not so much anymore, but making dinner at home is still cheaper.

Inflation has increased the operation price for restaurants, and the customers of these places are paying the price. Many restaurants around the country have begun discounting their meals to bring their main customer base back into the stores.

One North Dakota restaurant is going in the opposite direction. Olive Garden has just announced another price increase on its menu.

According to an article on MSN, due to lackluster sales, Olive Garden executives have doubled down as of June 1st, 2024 with between a 2.5 and 3 percent price increase. That's a fairly significant price hike.  This comes after Olive Garden already made their menu 1 percent more expensive last year.

In the article, it says customers across social media say Olive Garden is going in the wrong direction. Especially after years of ultra-high inflation.  How do you feel about Olive Garden's decision?