The untold story about how Olive Garden’s most popular special came to be

When the very first Olive Garden opened in 1982 near Orlando, it was a disaster.

When the first Olive Garden opened in 1982 in Orlando, Florida, it was a disaster. Long lines formed to get inside. The cooks couldn’t make enough sauce to keep up with demand. Bells constantly rang, alerting the kitchen staff that a table was waiting more than 10 minutes for their meal. The second day wasn’t any better. It was immediately clear to Blaine Sweatt, an Olive Garden cofounder and general manager, that he needed a quick and cost-efficient way to satisfy hordes of hungry customers as they waited for their entrées. Enter an endless supply of breadsticks, soups and salads. “It made guests really happy, but it also helped the kitchen catch up since servers could get them themselves,” said Jaime Bunker, senior vice president of marketing for Olive Garden. The special — albeit slightly tweaked to choose either soup or salad — was added to menus and included for free to guests ordering an entrée. Four decades later, the “endless” option remains a hallmark on Olive Garden’s menu.