How Many Countries Has Olive Garden Expanded To?
Olive Garden is an international chain known for its Italian-American fare. The business got its start in Orlando back in 1982 and was a product, unexpectedly, of General Mills (you might know them as cereal producers). By 1995, General Mills had sold the Olive Garden brand to Darden, a restaurant group that now owns a number of popular chains, including the upscale Ruth's Chris Steak House and The Capital Grille. In its more than 40 years in existence, Olive Garden has expanded to plenty of new areas, with locations in 12 countries, including the United States.
Two of Olive Garden's expansion territories are in the United States: Puerto Rico and Guam. The remaining locations are based in either Canada or South America, with one exception being the brand's two locations in the Philippines. No, it doesn't look like there are any Olive Gardens in Italy — that Tuscan cooking school resort aside — and that's probably a good thing.
The majority of Olive Garden's international locations are in South America
Olive Garden hasn't been shy about expanding into North American countries and territories like Canada and Puerto Rico, but the majority of its international locations reside in South America. The brand has eight Puerto Rican locations, six Canadian locations, and 28 South American spots.
To break it down further, 13 of those are in various parts of Mexico, with another six in Brazil. Costa Rica has three locations, Ecuador has two, Panama has two, and El Salvador has one. Aruba, an island in the Southern Caribbean, also has a sole location.
Olive Garden opened an outpost in Malaysia in 2015 and even sent one of its American trainers to oversee the brand's launch. However, the restaurant is not listed under Olive Garden's international locations. Back in 2018, Malaysian website LoopMe posted what appeared to be an announcement from the company noting the location had permanently closed, but the link to the original information on Facebook is no longer accessible.
Is Olive Garden planning to open more international locations?
Olive Garden informs customers of its new locations through its website, and by the looks of it, no international spots are in the brand's immediate future. Only eight locations are highlighted, all of which are within the continental United States, but that doesn't necessarily mean Olive Garden doesn't have plans to open restaurants elsewhere.
It appears Olive Garden's most recent international expansion was in the Philippines, where it opened both of its restaurants in late 2022. Olive Garden also expanded firmly into the Caribbean in 2022 with its Aruba location, which is housed within Gloria, a massive entertainment complex on the island. The brand opened a second Ecuador location in Quito last year, too, so it wouldn't be surprising if more international spots were in the pipeline. A quick glance at Olive Garden's menus in all of the brand's international spots suggests the dishes are quite similar to what you'd find in the United States; they all focus on Italian-American flare and don't appear to mix in any local flavors or dishes that reflect their respective locations.