Olive Garden is no longer the most popular US restaurant
Sorry, Olive Garden, your crown has been taken by another casual dining restaurant.
The popular Italian restaurant has been dethroned for the first time since 2018, with analysis of 2024 sales data showing that Americans preferred steakhouse fare over unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks.
New data from Technomic shows that Texas Roadhouse saw 14.7% growth, bumping Olive Garden down to the number two spot on its Top 500 Chain Restaurant ranking, reports WGN.
The steakhouse chain opened 26 new locations, and per Restaurant Business, invested in staffing and operations while keeping prices lower than inflation, resulting in big wins across the board.
According to Texas Roadhouse’s fourth quarter 2024 results, restaurant sales increased 7.7% at company restaurants and increased 6.3% at domestic franchise restaurants compared to the prior year.
“We are off to a strong start in 2025,” said Jerry Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of Texas Roadhouse, Inc. “Due to the continued growth across our portfolio, our 800th restaurant is under construction and will open later this year,” he stated.
This trend extends past Texas Roadhouse to another steak joint, as LongHorn Steakhouse saw a 7.2% increase last year. This gave the Darden brand the next-biggest sales increase, leapfrogging over Outback Steakhouse to become the sixth-largest casual dining brand on the list.
