Olive Garden Teams Up With Uber Direct For Home Food Delivery

Olive Garden announced that they would be teaming up with Uber Direct to bring its pasta and breadsticks straight to customers’ doors. The popular Italian casual-dining chain had been a longtime holdout against third-party delivery services, but they’re finally changing their tune.

Darden Restaurants has entered into an exclusive multi-year delivery partnership with Uber, set to begin with Olive Garden in late 2024. The agreement will enable restaurant guests to order on-demand delivery via Olive Garden’s website and app (not available on Uber Eats), with delivery handled by Uber Direct, through Uber’s national delivery network.

The partnership with Uber Direct will roll out in a limited capacity later this year as an initial pilot, and if successful, will expand to Olive Garden’s more than 900 locations nationwide by May 2025.

“Guests have been asking us for home delivery options and they continue to show they are willing to pay for the convenience,” said Rick Cardenas, Darden President and CEO. “As we continued to evaluate delivery, it was important for us to find a way to address this guest need state without disrupting the team member or guest experience and without compromising our competitive advantages and simple operating model.”

In a conference call Thursday with investors, Cardenas said it was important to find a way to offer delivery without disrupting staff or restaurant patrons. Delivery orders will be treated like take-out orders are now and brought out to drivers waiting curbside. And Cardenas said Olive Garden has technology in place to help employees manage order volumes.

According to Cardenas, menu prices for delivery will be the same as in restaurant, with the company charging an average delivery fee of around $7 per order, which seems rather fair.

With people’s dining habits changing and customers prioritizing convenience over the dining experience these days, the decision to finally offer delivery sounds like a good one for Olive Garden. Only time will tell how it turns out.