A small banner on display near the Olive Garden that is in its final stages of construction on Aiken’s Southside states that the new restaurant will be opening Sept. 25 at 11 a.m.
The Aiken Standard reported earlier this month that the Olive Garden would begin welcoming diners Oct. 9 after that date was posted online.
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A spokesperson for Darden Restaurants wrote the following in an email sent to the Aiken Standard on Aug. 3: “I confirmed with our construction team that the opening date is Oct. 9 for this location.”
The Olive Garden chain is a subsidiary of Darden Restaurants, which is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company’s other chains include Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s and Bahama Breeze.
The Aiken Standard contacted the Darden spokesperson by email Thursday, but a response wasn’t received prior to this story’s publication deadline.
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Aiken’s Olive Garden is at 2265 Whiskey Road. A Golden Corral restaurant at the nearly 2-acre location was demolished earlier this year before the construction of the Olive Garden began.
The site is an outparcel of the East Gate Shopping Center.
The closest Olive Garden to Aiken currently in operation is in Augusta at 2736 Washington Road near Augusta National.
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That restaurant is scheduled to close.
A new Olive Garden in Augusta is being built at 804 Cabela Drive in the Village at Riverwatch.
Other Olive Gardens in South Carolina include two in Columbia at 274 Harbison Blvd. and 10136-112 Two Notch Road, according to olivegarden.com.
Olive Garden restaurants feature Italian-American cuisine on their menus.
