There’s something wrong with Olive Garden’s beloved breadsticks, at least according to this customer. Could this be the chain’s downfall?
Breadsticks are synonymous with Olive Garden. So much so that the have a recurring never-ending deal for their three most iconic dishes: soup, salad, and breadsticks.
With that in mind, can you believe that in 2014, investors tried to get the restaurants to scale back on how many they served per table, according to the Daily Meal.
It was so serious to them that they emailed Olive Garden’s executives a nearly 300-page presentation on why fewer breadsticks would make the company more profitable, decrease food waste, and (allegedly) improve customer experience. (Despite being 294 pages long, the word “breadstick” only appears 47 times in the document.)
Did Olive Garden change its breadsticks?
In a viral video with more than 807,000 views, Emily (@luludoll33) and her group of friends were out dining at Olive Garden when they noticed something was off with the breadstick basket.
In between giggles one of her friends is heard saying “that’s a definite hot dog bun from Olive Garden.”
As one person holds up the bun, which appears to be slathered in butter, making it shiny, you can see that the texture of the “breadstick” is off, and there’s a line of demarcation running the course of the bread, like a hot dog bun.
“Olive Garden changed the breadstick supplier,” Emily theorized.
“When you think of Olive Garden you think of BREADSTICKS! Why in the hell would they change their breadsticks? IM DEVASTATED,” she added in the caption.
But a person in the comments section pointed out that this isn’t a reason to renounce Olive Garden forever.
“Former employee here! They do this when their local supplier is out of stock. It’s temporary,” a person shared. The Daily Dot reached out to Olive Garden to confirm whether this is the case.
Is a breadstick the same as a hot dog?
A hot dog bun and a breadstick are not made equal. As food writer Dennis Lee so aptly described in his newsletter (while on his journey to sneak a hot dog into Olive Garden):
“The thing about a regular hot dog bun is that it’s spongy and squishy and easy to eat, while an Olive Garden breadstick is chewy by nature—which is a weird texture pairing for a hot dog. But then again, the OG stick has a garlicky and buttery flavor, which is fun.”
@luludoll33 When you think of Olive Garden you think of BREADSTICKS! Why in the hell would they change their breadsticks? IM DEVASTATED 😨 #olivegarden #breadsticksarelife #olivegardenbreadsticks #fypage ♬ original sound – MISS ✨ E M I L Y
A long-held debate
This isn’t the first time Olive Garden breadsticks have been compared to hotdog buns.
In fact, this is a trend that pops up every few years involves cutting breadsticks in half and using them as hot dog buns. While it sounds ludicrous, the breadstick’s length lends itself quite nicely to this substitution.
Some even prefer the hot dog’s more buttery flavor over a store-bought bun’s more mild taste and texture.
Olive Garden in financial trouble
Olive Garden’s sales have slowed as people continue to cut back on nonessential spending amidst continuing inflation.
CBS News reported that restaurant prices have surged by 28% since January 2020 (still during the height of the pandemic).
After trying to get people in the door with their well-known endless pasta and breadsticks deals over the summer, the chain is now attempting to lure customers by bringing back discontinued dishes, including the steak gorgonzola alfredo and stuffed chicken marsala.
In September, its parent company, Darden Restaurants, announced that Olive Garden is partnering with Uber to offer third-party delivery for the first time. Olive Garden will first be listed on Uber Direct, not the broader Uber Eats app.
Commenters react
“They changed the only thing they had going for them,” a top comment read.
“Was olive garden ever good or was I just young and impressionable,” a person said.
“90’s alive garden was elite. now it’s total shi+,” another wrote.
“Why would they do that to themselves?!? 9 out of 10 people [come] just for the bread sticks,” a commenter pointed out.
The Daily Dot reached out to Emily via TikTok direct message and comment and to Olive Garden via email.
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