Olive Garden Owner Darden Restaurants To Buy Chuy’s for $605M

Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants is buying the Tex-Mex chain restaurant Chuy’s for $605 million. Darden’s press site shared details of the transaction.

Chuy’s will be just another addition to the company’s large portfolio of well-known restaurant brands, which includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Eddie V’s, and Bahama Breeze.

“Chuy’s is a differentiated brand within the full-service dining industry with strong performance and growth potential,” said Darden President and CEO Rick Cardenas in the press release. “Based on our criteria for adding a brand to the Darden portfolio, we believe Chuy’s is an excellent fit that supports our winning strategy. I am excited to welcome their 7,400 team members to Darden and diversify the Darden portfolio into a new dining category.”

Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants buying Tex-Mex chain Chuy's https://t.co/ZSZXqUld6s

— NBC DFW (@NBCDFW) July 17, 2024

Steven Hislop, chairman, CEO, and president of Chuy’s, added, “We are excited about the opportunity to join the Darden family and its portfolio of well-respected brands. Darden shares many of our same core values, particularly our operating philosophy and strong team member cultures. Together we will accelerate our business goals and bring our authentic, made-from-scratch Tex-Mex to more guests and communities.”

The transaction will be wrapped up in Darden’s fiscal second quarter. The boards of directors of both Darden and Chuy’s have unanimously approved it. The press release reports that the Tex-Mex chain currently operates 101 restaurants in 15 states. As of March 31, 2024, Chuy’s generated over $450 million in revenue in the last 12 months.

According to PR Newswire, in June 2023, Darden acquired Ruth’s Hospitality Group, the parent company of Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. USA Today reported that it was purchased for $715 million. Per Darden’s most recent earnings report, fiscal 2024 fourth-quarter financial highlights for the company include total sales increasing by 8.6% to $11.4 billion, driven by blended same-restaurant sales. The company’s fiscal 2025 financial outlook is projected to be total sales of $11.8 to $11.9 billion.