Olive Garden’s unlimited breadsticks are beloved by its loyal customers more than any other menu item, but few know the treasured appetizer was originally adopted to keep them busy.
The breadsticks have been a staple of Olive Garden’s Italian-style fare since 1982, when the first restaurant was opened on International Drive in Orlando. An immediate success, the restaurant enjoyed a far better crowd than expected on that first day, but food took longer than expected to leave the kitchen, an Olive Garden spokesperson told Fortune.
On the restaurant’s second day, it was just as busy, and the restaurant team made a decision that would later become a staple of the brand: to give the customers refills on breadsticks, for no extra cost, while they waited for their meals to arrive. While alarm bells rang and kitchen staff struggled to make enough sauce, customers munching on free breadsticks were satisfied.
“It made guests really happy, but it also helped the kitchen catch up since servers could get them themselves,” Jaime Bunker, Olive Garden’s senior vice president of marketing, told CNN.
Soon after, the company added soup and salad for customers purchasing an adult entrée to enjoy in the restaurant.
