CBS News
Olive Garden’s sales are dropping as customers cut back. Now, it’s revamping its menu.
Olive Garden’s menu of pastas and endless breadsticks failed to keep customers coming back this summer, with sales wilting at the Italian-restaurant chain. Now, the company plans to bring back some dishes it discontinued during the pandemic to convince diners to return.
The chain is bringing back its steak gorgonzola alfredo and stuffed chicken marsala, two dishes that it stopped serving during the pandemic, according to Ricardo Cardenas, the CEO of Olive Garden parent company Darden Restaurants. It’s also expanding its Never Ending Pasta Bowl offer by adding a new sauce — garlic herb — as an option.
Cardenas, who spoke during a September 19 earnings call, said the returning dishes will give “guests another reason to visit in the back half of this fiscal year.”
Olive Garden blamed its sales slump on “the sales softness that impacted the industry in July,” according to Darden Chief Financial Officer Raj Vennam on the call. Several restaurant chains have reported struggling to attract inflation-weary customers this year, especially as restaurant prices have surged 28% since January 2020, prior to the pandemic, prompting some to roll out savings promotions, such as McDonald’s $5 value meal.
“We always want to give our guests more of what they love when they come to Olive Garden, which is why we’re bringing back our Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo and Stuffed Chicken Marsala later in our fiscal year,” said Olive Garden spokeswoman Brittany Baron in an email to CBS MoneyWatch.
The company has also seen a rebound in the first three weeks of September, she added.
Olive Garden’s same-restaurant sales dropped 2.9% in its fiscal first quarter, which ended August 25. Darden CFO Vennam noted the company was “surprised by the significant step down in traffic beginning with the 4th of July holiday,” but also added that sales picked up in August.
Olive Garden’s new menu additions
The Italian chain added the garlic herb sauce as of September 23, Baron said. She added that the $13.99 price of the Never Ending Pasta Bowl hasn’t changed since 2022.
The company had discontinued the steak gorgonzola alfredo and stuffed chicken marsala dishes during the pandemic because it “streamlined our menus to help simplify operations and ensure the highest level of execution for our guests,” she added.
Darden CEO Cardenas said bringing back the two dishes will help the restaurant add more protein-based main courses.
“Both have been recast with higher-quality ingredients and easier execution for their restaurant teams,” Cardenas said on the conference call. “This announcement received tremendous applause from their general managers at their GM Conference in August.”
Darden last week also announced that Olive Garden is teaming up with Uber to offer third-party delivery service for the first time. Individual orders will be picked up and delivered by Uber Direct, a premium delivery service. Olive Garden won’t be listed on the broader Uber Eats platform.
If the initial pilot is successful, the delivery option will expand nationwide by May 2025, Darden said at the time.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Getty Images
After reaching a new all-time high of over $2,600 per ounce yesterday, gold prices have continued to surge. Less than 24 hours later, the price of gold is now sitting at nearly $2,660 per ounce. That may seem surprising, given that gold is typically a long-term investment, but the precious metal has hit numerous record highs so far this year, with gold prices up nearly 29% year-to-date. In turn, gold has become an increasingly attractive asset for investors.
If you’re considering joining the gold rush, this may seem like the ideal time to get in on the action — and it certainly could be. After all, some investors who bought in earlier this year have seen their gold value increase by hundreds of dollars per ounce so far. But before you buy in, you should understand that there is a range of gold assets to consider, each with its own unique set of risks, rewards and logistical considerations.
Given the differences between these assets, some gold investments may be more advantageous than others, especially in today’s unusual gold market climate. So what gold investments make the most sense right now? Below, we’ll detail three specific ones.
Explore the benefits of gold investing here now.
Gold’s price is still climbing: 3 gold options to consider now
The following gold assets may be worth a look if you’re planning to add gold to your portfolio soon:
Gold bars and coins
Gold bars and coins are one of the purest forms of investment in the precious metal, offering direct exposure to gold’s price. When the price of gold rises, so too does the value of your physical gold holdings. Investing in physical gold offers several advantages in the current market, including:
- Direct ownership: By holding physical gold, you have complete control over your assets, free from counterparty risk associated with paper gold investments.
- Liquidity: Physical gold is considered a liquid asset. As gold prices soar, the liquidity of physical gold comes in handy, as it’s easy to buy and sell in various quantities.
- Potential for premium appreciation: Certain gold coins, particularly those with numismatic value, may appreciate beyond the spot price of gold, offering additional upside potential.
That said, you should be aware of storage and security considerations, as well as potential markups over the spot price, before purchasing physical gold. But even with these factors in mind, the tangible nature of gold bars and coins could make physical gold a smart bet if you’re looking for a direct stake in the gold market.
Explore your gold investing options and get started here.
Gold stocks
If you’re seeking exposure to gold’s price movements but don’t want to deal with the hassle of physical gold storage, gold mining stocks present an intriguing option. As gold prices climb, many gold mining companies experience significant boosts to their profitability and stock prices. Investing in gold stocks could offer several potential benefits in the current gold bull market, including:
- Leverage to gold prices: Gold mining stocks often provide leveraged exposure to gold prices, potentially outperforming the metal itself during bull markets.
- Dividend income: Unlike physical gold, many gold mining companies pay dividends, offering a stream of income in addition to potential capital appreciation.
- Ease of trading: Gold stocks can be easily bought and sold through most brokerage accounts, offering greater convenience than dealing with physical gold.
- Mergers and acquisitions: Higher gold prices can fuel industry consolidation, potentially benefiting shareholders through strategic mergers and acquisitions.
Before you invest, though, it’s important to understand that gold stocks carry company-specific risks and they may also be more volatile than the price of gold itself. Still, the potential for outsized returns makes gold stocks an attractive option worth considering.
Gold ETFs
If you’re seeking a balance between the direct exposure of physical gold and the convenience of stocks, gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer a compelling middle ground, allowing investors to buy shares in a fund that either holds physical gold or tracks the price of gold-related assets. Gold ETFs present several advantages in the current market, including:
- Ease of access: Gold ETFs can be bought and sold like stocks, making them accessible through standard brokerage accounts.
- Lower costs: Compared to buying and storing physical gold, many gold ETFs offer a more cost-effective way to gain exposure to gold price movements.
- Liquidity: Gold ETFs typically offer high liquidity, allowing you to enter and exit positions quickly as market conditions change.
- Diversification: Some gold ETFs provide exposure to a basket of gold-related assets, including physical gold, gold futures and gold mining stocks, offering built-in diversification.
- Fractional ownership: ETFs allow you to gain exposure to gold with smaller amounts of capital, making it easier to fine-tune portfolio allocations.
Before investing, though, make sure to look into any ongoing management fees and the potential for tracking errors relative to the spot price of gold.
The bottom line
Gold’s recent record-breaking prices have made it even more of an attractive investment asset to consider and with the price of gold showing no signs of slowing down, it could be the perfect time to add some gold to your investment portfolio. There are plenty of opportunities to profit from this ongoing rush, too, whether you prefer the security of holding physical gold, the potential for greater returns with gold stocks or the flexibility and convenience of gold ETFs.
