The Italian chain is offering patrons a “Never Ending Pasta Pass” for $100 that buys them seven weeks of unlimited pasta, breadsticks, salad and Coca-Cola beverages.
There are only 1,000 passes and they went on sale at 3 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 8. If a a pass was used once every day for the 49-day period, its bearer would effectively be paying about $2 per meal.
A membership to a gym might also be needed as the chain’s pasta dishes average around 1,000 calories for a single serving.
Given the fact that
Olive Garden’s same-store sales dropped 1.3 percent in the most recent quarter, it’s no surprise that the chain’s upper management would be heaving this kind of marketing Hail Mary pass. The new promotion is running at the same time as its “Never Ending Pasta Bowl” offer, which lets customers eat unlimited pasta for $9.99. Olive Garden isn’t alone in its bid to attract diners to shore up its struggling bottom line as TGIFridays launched the $10 “Endless Appetizer” deal, joining Red Lobster and its current “Endless Shrimp” special for $15.99.
