Olive Garden is often maligned for being a commercialized, fast-food version of Italian cooking, and a recently viral TikTok doesn’t do much to combat this belief.
TikTok user Bit (@witchdoct0r777) posted a video accusing the chain of refilling empty wine bottles with boxed wine on Feb. 8. Within 24 hours, the video received nearly 250,000 views.
“So, I noticed when we were at Olive Garden, they poured our wine from the bottle, but then we saw the boxes, and then they were keeping the empty bottles, so obviously they’re filling the bottles with the boxes!” she said.
As she spoke, Bit zoomed in on a counter behind the bar and showed two open boxes of Vella wine resting on one side, while several empty wine bottles rested on the other.
Bit requested corroboration for her theory in the video’s caption. “If you work at olive garden please confirm or deny this,” she wrote.
@witchdoct0r777 If you work at olive garden please confirm or deny this #olivegarden #wine ♬ original sound – Blt
In the comments section, one TikToker who said they work at Olive Garden dismissed Bit’s theory.
“As someone who works at an Olive Garden the box wine is for sangrias :) just because you see them in the same room doesn’t mean they are connected,” they wrote.
Several other viewers backed up this explanation.
“The boxed wine is only used for the sangrias,” one viewer stated.
“It’s for the sangria,” a second agreed.
“Red box is for their berry sangria, and white is for the watermelon and green apple sangria,” another echoed.
Many also remarked that Bit was jumping to conclusions in her post.
“‘I had about 13 seconds to scope out the situation, I definitely know what’s happening here and you would not BELIEVE it,’” one user sarcastically remarked.
Other viewers pointed out that the bottles were likely being saved for recycling and inventory purposes, so they couldn’t be tossed out with the other trash.
“No, they have to recycle now, and [some managers] count the bottles at the end of day, to make sure the bartender wasn’t over pouring for a tip,” one user proposed.
The Daily Dot reached out to Bit via TikTok comment and Olive Garden via email for further information.
