BOYCOTT!!!

[Nobunaga]

... Why boycott? Did the staff fire racial slurs at you while you were waiting for your dinner rolls? Did you see imported child laborers slaving over the pasta cookers for only pennies a day?

... If the prices are too high, people will stop going... and business will die.

...

It is reassuring to know your views.

Thank you for sharing them.

... Happy to share, Pimp.

...

[The Weird One]

never been to olive garden. . .at least, not that I can remember.

[gdeangel]

It is outrageous. But, in fact, the problem is that they have the ability to raise the price due to very effective advertising.

In the suburban chain-restaurant land where I live, there is only one restaurant that you cannot get a table at without a 30+ minute wait at dinner time. Ding - it's the Olive Garden.

Other places have raised their prices too, don't get me wrong. But the places that have a slow dinner business can't raise their price, so they are reducing their portions.

Yes costs have risen. The price of pasta has probably doubled, mainly do to demand for feed grain, substitution of corn for wheat, and energy costs (which goes right back in the supply chain all the way to the production of fertilizers and pesticides), not just the gas in the tractor / delivery truck.

But what's ridiculous is that food was so cheap, profits so high, in this type of pasta "chain Italian" business, that now they are reaping money hand over fist. Let me illustrate: Pre-mega inflation. Cost of dish of pasta w/ nice sauce = $2.00. Price = $10. Mark up = $8. Gross Margin = 400%. Here's what has happened. Cost of dish of pasta = $4.00. maintain gross margin @ 400%. Mark up = 16. New price = $20 for pasta.

This is why you have Olive Garden experiencing revenue growth while the rest of the mid-tier chains struggle. The Long Horns and the Lone Stars of the world have not gotten the brand loyalty to be able to raise price... people would just go to the other chain. On the other hand, Olive Garden has won the brand war for Italian Eateries, and thus is cleaning up big time. Places like Carrabas, Maccaroni Grill and Bucca Di Beppo are just can't get the Olive Garden crowds to defect.

On the other hand, the world of non-chain restaurants is pretty bad. You can't find a decent "middle market" non-chain. They can't compete on costs with the "big box" buyers, so dish for dish, you end up paying significantly more, or, on the other hand, getting lower quality. The only exception is a place like New York where access to food distributors is basically unlimited, and the cost of the real estate generally levels the playing field against the "big box chains". (Note - Olive Garden has a restaurant in Times Square of all places.) Elsewhere, its only at the high end where the non-chains pay off.... when the cost of the kitchen talent and "exotic" ingredients (like particularly the freshest sea food) level off the playing field and allow the local guy to deliver at the "fair market" price.

[retardo]

fud is god

[Rigunito]

Guys, its sounds funny

[nagerous]

I'm calling for a CC-wide boycott of the Olive Garden restaurant. My wife and I recently ventured there to enjoy a quasi-Italian dinner. It had been a while since we had been, but the place never changes, so I had a good idea of what to expect. I sat down to the table and opened my menu. What I saw was appalling! I normally order the spaghetti and Italian sausage - I know, but spare me the phallus jokes, all right - with a bowl of minestrone soup. When I looked at the menu to find my dish of choice, I was surprised to find that they had raised there prices. My spaghetti was going to cost me FIFTEEN DOLLARS! What?!? The Tour of Italy was SEVENTEEN DOLLARS! Unbelievable!

So, what do you in CC-land say? BOYCOTT THE OLIVE GARDEN!

I can safely say I'll never eat there.

[edsdad]

Been there once,never went back .So o.k.

[Sentinel XIV]

... Why boycott? Did the staff fire racial slurs at you while you were waiting for your dinner rolls? Did you see imported child laborers slaving over the pasta cookers for only pennies a day?

... If the prices are too high, people will stop going... and business will die.

...

Don't the phrases "boycott" and "people will stop going" mean, essentially, the same thing? I'm just putting a little more "ooomph" behind my "people will stop going".

[freyme]

Olive Garden actually puts a lot of their recipes on line. Go there find one you like and cook it yourself at home. That is what my wife and I do.

I agree with the sentiments of many. Some of the smaller family owned restaurants are the best. You can find them in the city or the small towns, you just have to look for them.