It might sound like a social media joke, but no, the news is real.
Olive Garden is coming to Ames.
“We’re thrilled to bring Olive Garden to Ames and can’t wait to serve guests never-ending amounts of soup, salad and breadsticks when they dine with us,” Brittany Baron, communications manager for Olive Garden, told the Ames Tribune in an email on March 27.
The popular Italian restaurant known for its endless breadsticks will be built on the northwest corner of Highway 30 and Dayton Avenue.
When Olive Garden is opening hasn’t yet been finalized, but the company’s intentions are clear: Ames will be Olive Garden’s ninth Iowa location, the fourth in central Iowa.
Other Iowa locations include Ankeny, Des Moines, West Des Moines, Coralville, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Waterloo and Dubuque.
Facebook joke is coming true
For years, the idea of Ames getting an Olive Garden was so preposterous, it became a running joke on Facebook.
But now social media followers, such as members of the group Ames People, are going to need a new funny comeback.
Ames getting an Olive Garden felt rather unlikely for many online users, motivating posters to respond to retail and commercial questions with the tongue-in-cheek answer “Olive Garden.”
But now those tongues are going to be on the restaurant’s famous all-you-can-eat breadsticks.
Olive Garden is known for giving back to the community
With more than $4.9 billion in annual sales, Olive Garden is the “leading restaurant in the Italian dining segment” with nearly 900 restaurants and more than 99,000 employees, according to the Olive Garden’s website.
The publicly held company (NYSE: DRI) is a division of Orlando, Florida-based Darden Restaurants, which owns and operates more than 1,900 restaurants that generate over $10.5 billion in annual sales.
With more than 190,000 employees, Darden puts an emphasis on giving back to the community, according to the website.
“As part of this commitment, Olive Garden restaurants have donated more than 49 million pounds of food to local community food banks across the country,” the website reads.
Ronna Faaborg covers business and the arts for the Ames Tribune. Reach her at rfaaborg@gannett.com.