How Olive Garden is run
At the end of May 2026 Darden owned and operated 949 Olive Garden restaurants in the US. Franchisees ran 63 more: 11 in the US, a count that includes Puerto Rico and Guam, and 52 abroad. (Darden Restaurants annual report, fiscal 2026)
Outside the US
Franchised Olive Gardens are in Latin America, Canada, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Caribbean. Darden sold its eight Canadian restaurants to Recipe Unlimited, which now runs them as a franchisee. (Darden Restaurants annual report, fiscal 2026)
Franchises like Olive Garden
If you want to own a Italian business, these franchise brands sell the closest thing to Olive Garden, largest first.
| Brand | Cost to open | Fee | Royalty | Locations | Sales a location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noodles & CompanyFee $35K · Royalty 5% · Sales $1.26M a location | $669K–$1.41M | $35K | 5% | 463+15 in 3 yrs | $1.26M |
| SbarroFee $20K–$35K · Royalty 5%–7% of gross revenues | $212K–$906K | $20K–$35K | 5%–7% of gross revenues | 387+41 in 3 yrs | – |
| Carrabba's Italian GrillFee $40K · Royalty 5% | $4.26M–$9.04M | $40K | 5% | 210−9 in 3 yrs | – |
| Fazoli'sFee $50K · Royalty 5% · Sales $1.31M a location | $1.64M–$2.64M | $50K | 5% | 195−18 in 3 yrs | $1.31M |
| Villa Italian KitchenFee $25K · Royalty 6% | $303K–$644K | $25K | 6% | 94−117 in 3 yrs | – |
| Maggiano's Little ItalyFee $35K · Royalty 1.25% plus 3.75% | $4.84M–$6.97M | $35K | 1.25% plus 3.75% | 52−2 in 3 yrs | – |
Locations are US locations, franchised and company-owned, at the end of the latest year filed. Sales are yearly, before costs, where the brand publishes them.
Noodles & Company is the largest, with 463 US locations, and Sbarro costs least to open, from $211,900. Sbarro added the most locations, +41 over 3 years. Of the brands that publish sales, Fazoli's reports the most per location, $1.31M a year. The typical restaurant franchise starts at $408K to open; see where the money goes.