Darden Restaurants, owner of Olive Garden and Red Lobster, has found its next big thing in LongHorn Steakhouse.
After a couple of years of slow growth during the economic downturn and adjustment to a new corporate owner, the Western-themed chain is taking off, with annual sales expected to hit $1 billion for the first time this year.
Orlando-based Darden bought LongHorn and Capital Grille for $1.4 billion in 2007.
This year, Darden is accelerating the pace of expansion, with plans to dot the country with LongHorns, eventually reaching 600 to 800. With only 356 restaurants, including seven in the Chicago area, “LongHorn still has this long runway of growth available to it,” said Dave George, president of the chain.