Where Was The Very First Olive Garden Located?

It isn't exactly an exaggeration to say you can find an Olive Garden practically anywhere you look, because the restaurant chain has opened almost 900 locations through the years. At one point in time, however, there was only one. That was back in 1982, and the sole Olive Garden was located in Orlando, Florida. It became such a popular dining spot that by 1989, the chain grew to 145 locations.

Despite the fact that General Mills Restaurants (now Darden Restaurants), the company responsible for creating Olive Garden, was originally based in Minneapolis, the idea was conceived in Orlando, so that's where Olive Garden first opened its doors. According to Joe R. Lee, who was General Mills's executive vice president at the time, there was already a three-year plan in place to grow Olive Garden beyond Orlando. "We believe The Olive Garden has a strong opportunity to become the Red Lobster of the Italian dinner-house segment," Lee said in a 1987 article in the Orlando Sentinel.

As you might expect, eating at the original Olive Garden in 1982 was a completely different experience from what it is today. A former server who claims to have worked there two years after it first opened, shared in a Reddit thread that the setup of the restaurant was completely different from how it is today and even had a second level. "What a chore carrying a huge tray of heavy pasta dishes up a long, steep staircase," the user wrote.

As for the menu, the biggest difference, according to another former employee's comment in the Reddit thread was the pasta was made from scratch in-house. That person also said unlimited soup and salad didn't exist in the first restaurant, however, according to Thrillist all-you-can-eat-free breadsticks were offered from the very beginning. As an old segment from the daytime talk show "Good Company" (via YouTube) reveals, by 1988, the pasta was still being handmade, and along with unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks, the chain had also introduced the Tour of Italy, an entrée that still exists on the current menu.

Unfortunately for fans hoping to visit it, the original Olive Garden no longer exists. Many people believe that the one located on International Drive in Orlando is the same one that opened in 1982. But while the first Olive Garden was in fact on International Drive, it was at a different address. Judging by older pictures of 7653 International Drive, where Olive Garden used to stand, the original building was heavily renovated and is no longer recognizable.

After it closed down, the oldest standing Olive Garden for many years, at least according to collective memory, was one located in Fashion Square, also in Orlando. This restaurant ended up closing down in 2019 and moved to a new address where it was given a more modern look, the Orlando Sentinel reported at the time. With nearly 900 locations nationwide, the chain is still headquartered in Orlando.