Olive Gardens Get ‘Contemporary’ Remodel

The bar at the North Little Rock Olive Garden at 2943 Lakewood Village Drive. Remodeling efforts included recharging stations for mobile devices at the Olive Garden bars.

The Olive Garden restaurants in Little Rock and North Little Rock have a new look after a remodel that includes updated artwork, fabrics, materials, lighting, seating and flooring. There’s even a new Olive Garden logo. The Little Rock restaurant is at 10715 N. Rodney Parham Road, and the North Little Rock site is at 2943 Lakewood Village Drive.

“We’ve maintained what people love about us while reflecting a more contemporary design,” Priyesh Shah, director of operations for Olive Garden, said in a news release. In addition, the restaurants donated old furnishings and décor to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore of Little Rock. “Since 2010, Olive Garden restaurants nationwide have donated more than $460,000 in furnishings to local Habitat for Humanity ReStore outlets,” the company said.

Darden Restaurants, the parent company of Olive Garden, must be doing something right. Its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings, released June 21, beat analysts’ estimates, rising 18 percent to $1.39 a share on revenue of $2.13 billion.