Recipe Restaurant Group has opened a new Olive Garden restaurant at Vaughan Mills, marking the first new location in Eastern Canada under the company’s national development agreement with Darden Restaurants Inc.
The opening also represents the first restaurant in Ontario and follows Recipe’s acquisition earlier this year of the existing Western Canadian restaurants.
The Vaughan Mills location is the first of several Ontario restaurants planned as Recipe expands the brand across Canada under its long-term growth strategy. The company said additional locations in Ottawa and Ajax are currently in development.
Recipe said the restaurant is located at Vaughan Mills and will serve Olive Garden’s menu of Italian-inspired dishes, soups, salads and breadsticks.
“The opening of the first Olive Garden restaurant in Ontario is a significant milestone for Recipe,” said Frank Hennessey, chief executive officer of Recipe Restaurant Group. “The response from the community to the opening has been incredible. Receiving over 6,000 applications allowed us to build an outstanding team of more than 250 members, representing a fantastic economic opportunity for the region. We’re proud to bring Olive Garden’s quality food, warm hospitality and exceptional value to Ontarians, and we can’t wait to welcome guests to experience everything that makes the brand so special.”
Bradley Smith, president of Darden Franchising, said the opening marks the brand’s expansion into Eastern Canada through its relationship with Recipe.
“We are very excited to expand Olive Garden into Eastern Canada and open our first Toronto-area restaurant at Vaughan Mills,” said Smith. “Recipe’s deep experience in the Canadian restaurant industry will help us successfully deliver Olive Garden’s signature Italian generosity to our guests.”
Recipe said the Vaughan Mills restaurant is part of its broader plan to expand the Olive Garden brand nationally following its agreement with Darden Restaurants.
Olive Garden operates more than 920 restaurants and employs more than 96,000 people. The brand is a division of Darden Restaurants.
Recipe Restaurant Group said it operates nearly 1,100 restaurants across Canada and also has operations in the United States and the Middle East through a portfolio of casual dining, quick-service and fast-casual restaurant brands.
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