Twitter Is Divided Over Olive Garden’s Politics

A Twitter user posted a meme detailing the different levels of chain restaurant discourse, using Olive Garden as an example. The photo depicts that while Olive Garden is both good in the sense that it’s a working class restaurant with working class employees, it’s bad in the sense that Olive Garden hurts local small businesses. But, as the photo says, one can recognize the “ills of capitalism” while still supporting working class employees. Oh, and something about unlimited breadsticks. The photo led to users jumping into the debate of the classic Italian chain restaurant.

“The chain restaurant has one thing that’s good and a hundred other things because you’re stuck there,” wrote one person. “Just give me two or three things that are good and nothing else.” Another person asked, “Isn’t Olive Garden owned by famously anti worker Darden?”

While Olive Garden hasn’t been seen as a political restaurant in the same way Chick-fil-A has been, its parent company, Darden, has been under fire for what some call discriminatory practices. In 2021, the company was accused of sexual and racial bias towards women and minority servers, making them rely on tips to meet minimum wage obligations (per Reuters). Darden was also accused of avoiding practices that would have mitigated the issue and allowing sexual harassment in its workplaces.

Olive Garden employees, however, claim that the higher-ups aren’t as bad as one would think.