DARDEN

The Ruth’s Chris Steak House chain is being acquired by Darden Restaurants for about $715 million.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida handed out hundreds of pounds of food in Altamonte Springs on Wednesday by using a brand-new refrigerated truck donated by Darden Restaurants. The truck was donated in January and on Wednesday, it made its first delivery. [WATCH: Darden Restaurants donates mobile pantry to Second Harvest Food Bank]Cars lined up as early as 6 a.m. outside the Apostolic Church of Jesus. Second Harvest Food Bank handed out 96 million meals throughout Central Florida within the last year. Works said the new truck will help them get even more food out to the community.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando-based Darden restaurant group eliminated its workforce by 11% this summer through restructuring and retirement incentives, according to the company’s recent earnings call. The company’s restaurant brands include Olive Garden, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Longhorn Steakhouse, Yard House and Eddie V’s Prime Seafood. Darden Restaurants closed all dining rooms at the end of March when the coronavirus was taking off in the U.S. According to the 2021 first-quarter results presentation, Darden conducted an 11% workforce reduction in July and August through a retirement incentive program and restructuring. Longhorn Steakhouse suffered the least between the same time last year and the 2021 first-quarter, according to the results.

Orlando-based Darden restaurant group has an optimistic outlook for the rest of the year despite the closure of its restaurants due to the coronavirus pandemic. Darden Restaurants closed all dining rooms at the end of March when the coronavirus was taking off in the U.S. As of June 22, 91% of Darden’s dining rooms were open with at least a limited capacity, according to the company. Throughout next year, Darden expects to open 35-40 net new restaurants. When our dining rooms closed, our operators did an amazing job of reimagining the guest experience by staying true to our back-to-basics operating philosophy,” Lee said in a statement.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando-based restaurant company Darden revealed it has an emergency plan to pay all of its employees through the coronavirus pandemic that has forced many businesses to close. “The health and safety of our team members, their families and our guests remains our top priority,” Lee said. Darden operates more than 1,700 restaurants and employees more than 180,000 people, according to the company’s website. Earlier this month, Darden created a paid sick leave program for its hourly employees. To keep up with the latest news on the pandemic, subscribe to News 6′s coronavirus newsletter or go to ClickOrlando.com/coronavirus.