How Many People Work at Darden Restaurants? Headcount and Employee Trends

• Darden Restaurants, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, operates multiple restaurant brands including Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, achieving a total sales increase of 5.9% to $3.3 billion in Q3 2026.
• In the past year, Darden has opened 31 new restaurants and repurchased $127 million of its outstanding common stock, while also exploring strategic alternatives for the Bahama Breeze brand.
• Key brands such as Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse have demonstrated strong performance, with same-restaurant sales growth of 3.2% and 7.2% respectively, driven by high guest satisfaction and operational execution.
• Darden's ideal buyers are mid to high-income consumers seeking quality dining experiences, and the company addresses the pain point of providing consistent guest experiences through high team member retention and disciplined pricing strategies.

Darden Restaurants employs a diverse workforce across 18 departments, with the largest being Executive (831 employees) and Operations (590 employees). Human Resources also plays a significant role, with a headcount of 242. The distribution reflects a balanced functional structure, ensuring robust operational support and strategic leadership.

The company's workforce is geographically concentrated, with the largest location in Orlando, FL, housing 457 employees. Other notable locations include Lewisville, TX, and Duluth, GA, each with 13 employees. The 'Other' category accounts for a substantial portion of the workforce, indicating a distributed operational model across various regions.