Metro Orlando has a lot to be proud of in our own Darden Restaurants. The Orange County-headquartered company was recently deemed "the most successful restaurant chain in the world" by FastCompany.com and named one of the nation's "best companies for diversity" by Black Enterprise. The operator of Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Season's 52, Capital Grille, and Longhorn Steakhouse was noted for the leadership that has helped the casual dining chain continue to grow, and hire, despite tough economic times.
The growth of Darden mirrors the growth of Central Florida, which this company has called home since Bill Darden opened the first Red Lobster in 1968. Darden's popular concept was eventually acquired by General Mills; the company was re-named in his honor when it spun off from General Mills in May 1995,at that time becoming a publicly-traded company. The chain has since grown to Fortune 500 status, currently ranked #374 and the only Orlando-headquartered company on that list. Last year, Darden solidified its ties to our region, moving into an all-new, expanded campus on Lake Ellenor Drive in South Orange County.
Though by far the largest, Darden is not the only restaurant chain headquartered here. Sonny's Real Pit BBQ, based in Maitland, operates 137 restaurants in nine states. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, which moved their headquarters to Lake Mary in 2004, operates 132 restaurants in the U.S. and abroad. And the growing Tijuana Flats chain now has locations in Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Indiana, as well as throughout Florida.
The presence of all these great corporate headquarters is good for our economy and good for our community. We are proud that they call Metro Orlando home.
