Olive Garden adds catering delivery, new menu items

  • By Kyle Arnold Orlando Sentinel
  • Monday, January 25, 2016 1:53pm
  • Business

ORLANDO, Fla. – The breadsticks are on their way.

Orlando-based Olive Garden restaurants launched catering with delivery at their 800 locations nationwide, the company announced Monday.

It also comes with the launch of a four new menu items including a create your own Tour of Italy and pianadas, a kind of flatbread with grilled chicken and vegetables.

The company is pushing its growing to-go business further by offering catered delivery on orders of $125 or more, plus a 15 percent delivery fee. Orders over $500 will have a 5 percent fee.

“Our Olive Garden team members are always striving to make any occasion effortless for our guests so they can focus on quality time with their family and friends,” said Dan Kiernan, executive vice president of operations for Olive Garden in a statement. “Our guests have long been utilizing our To Go experience for their large-party dining needs, so we’re excited to offer another convenient option with delivery.”

Olive Garden’s to go orders now make up 10 percent of the restaurant’s business, CEO Gene Lee said in December, and the company is exploring exactly how to do delivery using third-party services.

The deliveries will be made by Olive Garden employees.

Other new menu items include an 11-ounce “Tuscan Sirloin” steak and a cheesestick appetizer called Mozzarella Fritti, which is drizzled with alfredo sauce with marinara sauce for dipping.

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