Olive Garden's Italian salad dressing and shredded cheese are now for sale in Sam's Club stores across the country.
The Italian chain, owned by Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, said Wednesday the products will be sold at Sam's Club stores exclusively for a year. Darden, which also owns Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse, will study sales results before determining whether to expand its new grocery business.
It's a chance "to extend the brand beyond the four walls of the restaurant," Darden spokesman Rich Jeffers said.
But don't expect to buy breadsticks or chicken parmesan anytime soon. Darden says it would have difficulty re-creating the quality of its restaurant meals in frozen entrees, so it would stick with basic items such as the dressing and cheeses made by outside companies but marketed under the Olive Garden brand under a licensing deal.
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