Olive Garden photo
NEW YORK (AP) — Olive Garden’s plan to win back customers? Take the breadsticks it’s known for and make sandwiches out of them.
The restaurant chain known for its unlimited breadsticks says it plans to use them for chicken parmigiana and meatball sandwiches starting June 1.
The plans for the breadstick sandwiches are the latest attempt to revamp Olive Garden’s menu and marketing to win back customers. Justin Sikora, a Darden representative, said the breadsticks used for the sandwiches will be a bit shorter and wider than the regular breadsticks.
And as with all other dishes, the sandwiches come with unlimited breadsticks.
Olive Garden’s unlimited breadsticks gained attention last year during a dispute with an investor, Starboard Value. Among other criticisms of Olive Garden’s parent company, Darden Restaurants Inc., Starboard said the chain wasn’t being disciplined in its distribution of breadsticks to customers.