Pandemic slashes sales at Olive Garden’s Times Square area by 94%

During a common year, Olive Garden’s Times Square dining establishment generates $15 million in sales.

But the coronavirus pandemic and regional limitations on dining have actually eliminated business of the chain’s finest area, cutting its typical weekly sales from $300,000 to less than $18,000.

Darden Restaurants CEO Gene Lee informed experts on the business’s financial first-quarter call that sales have actually decreased to simply $2,500 a day for the takeout-only area. Olive Garden represent approximately half of Darden’s general profits.

And the Olive Garden isn’t the only Darden dining establishment that has actually seen its New York company fail. Lee likewise stated that the 3 New York areas of the Capital Grille, a fine-dining chain owned by Darden, are losing countless dollars weekly in sales. 

Dining spaces, which are set to resume at 25% capability on Sept. 30, have actually been closed in the city considering that March. As of Monday, New York is the U.S. city with the hardest struck dining establishment market. According to Toast, the city’s dining establishment profits is down 65% compared to the very same time a year back.

The loss of tourist is amongst the aspects injuring the New York dining establishment market, consisting of the Olive Garden in Times Square. Pedestrian traffic in the New York City traveler hotspot has actually plunged to about 73% from the very same time in 2015, according to the Times Square Alliance. Less than half of Times Square’s dining establishments are open for outside dining.

Shares of Darden increased almost 5% in early morning trading after the business topped expert quotes for its quarterly profits. Darden’s general sales fell 28% throughout its newest quarter however it anticipates sales decreases of just 18% next quarter.