Olive Garden’s fan-favorite ‘Never Ending Pasta Bowl’ returns on Monday — and the price tag hasn’t budged.
The all-you-can-eat pasta offer will once again start at $13.99, holding steady despite restaurant prices climbing sharply over the past four years.
Menu prices across the US have risen about 30 percent since 2020, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Industry experts say Olive Garden can afford to keep the promotion cheap because pasta is inexpensive to make and filling, while customers rarely eat more than a few bowls.
‘Pasta is both very inexpensive and very filling, so profit margins are already high,’ said Mike Kostyo, vice president at Menu Matters.
‘There’s a reason you can offer an unlimited pasta bowl promotion at $13.99 and not an unlimited lobster promotion at the same price.’
The chain, owned by Darden Restaurants, has raised menu prices just 2% over the past year, below the pace of inflation. Yet profits jumped nearly 13% last quarter, thanks in part to promotions like its take-home meal deal.
Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, said keeping the deal at the same price is a deliberate strategy to highlight value as consumers continue to face higher grocery and dining costs.
Olive Garden’s $13.99 ‘Never Ending Pasta Bowl’ returns on August 25
Keeping the deal at $13.99 is a deliberate strategy to highlight value, said Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, as consumers contend with rising grocery and dining bills.
‘It drives traffic to stores,’ he said. ‘Margins may be compressed a little, but Olive Garden makes it up on volume and add-on purchases.’
The 30-year-old promotion includes unlimited servings of four pastas — fettuccine, spaghetti, angel hair and rigatoni — paired with six sauces, plus soup or salad and endless breadsticks.
Meatballs, chicken, or sausage can be added for $4.99. Olive Garden’s unlimited soup or salad and endless breadstick deals are also included.
The ‘Never Ending Pasta Bowl’ runs through November 16. Olive Garden typically launches the deal at back-to-school time, when families are facing more expenses.
Olive Garden’s value options has also helped in providing an earnings boost. The chain credited the return of its buy-one meal and get a take-home meal deal for helping its profits rise.
Experts are uncertain if the ‘Never Ending Pasta Bowl’ will cost $13.99 forever.
Kostyo advised Olive Garden to be careful and make sure ‘they aren’t the victim of their own success.’
‘The industry is littered with brands that never raised the price on items and had to deal with customer anger when they were finally forced to bump up the price. Nothing can stay the same price forever,’ he said.
Olive Garden has offered the ‘Never Ending Pasta Bowl’ nearly every year since 1995
Mike Kostyo, vice president at Menu Matters, revealed profit margins are high because pasta is ‘inexpensive and very filling’
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Saunders added: ‘Whether the price remains the same in future years really depends on how costs change,’ Saunders continued.
‘However, Olive Garden has signaled that it would like to keep prices the same to emphasize the value for money message.’
The upcoming pasta bowl offer comes months after Olive Garden rolled out delivery from all its nearly 1,000+ restaurants. The orders are priced the same as in restaurant menus, and can be ordered through its website or app.
Darden, Olive Garden’s parent company, is planning to open restaurants, aiming for the Italian chain to be ‘in the 20-ish range for the foreseeable future.’
Its sister chain, Bahama Breeze, is in the process of offloading its remaining restaurants. However, Darden has not revealed if any locations will convert into Olive Gardens.