Restaurant operator Gourmet Investments Hospitality Group is preparing to introduce the Olive Garden brand in India, Reuters reported.
Established in 1982, Olive Garden is an Italian-themed dining chain owned by Darden Restaurants. The concept has close to 1,000 locations across 12 international markets.
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Gourmet Investments Hospitality Group CEO Rohan Pewekar told the news agency that the company expects to open more than ten Olive Garden outlets in India within the next three years.
Expansion is then planned to accelerate, with an emphasis on larger cities.
Olive Garden will be positioned in the local market as a “premium casual dining” concept, Pewekar added without providing further details.
Gourmet Investments plans to keep Olive Garden’s international menu largely unchanged while expanding vegetarian choices to suit Indian diners.
The group, which already operates PizzaExpress and Chili’s in the country, also plans to significantly scale its overall restaurant network.
Pewekar was quoted by Reuters as saying: “(Gourmet Investments has a) vision of scaling to nearly 100 to 125 stores across formats and categories over the next three years (from around 55).”
Part of the Bharti Group, Gourmet Investments was set up in 2012 with an objective to bring global restaurant brands into India.
Alongside PizzaExpress and Chili’s, it has introduced Ministry of Crab and PF Chang’s to the domestic market.
In February, Gourmet Investments expanded the PizzaExpress Daily footprint in the country by launching it in Jaipur.
According to its LinkedIn profile, the operator currently runs 35 outlets in cities, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai.
