Darden Restaurants - History

History

What would come to be known as Darden Restaurants began when William (Bill) Darden founded the Red Lobster Inns of America and opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida in 1968. Darden chose Lakeland because he wished to see how the concept would fare in a non-coastal region, and Lakeland was the innermost city in Florida. The initial Red Lobster franchise was applauded by diners and critics alike. The store became successful and by 1970 had expanded to three locations in the state with two more under construction. While the locations were profitable, the company lacked the resources to expand further, so Darden sold the company to food giant General Mills that year. General Mills upgraded the chain to a more casual dining/family fare oriented format, opened a new corporate headquarters in Orlando, Florida and installed Darden as company president. In 1975, when Darden was promoted to the position of Vice President of operations for the restaurant unit, Joseph (Joe) R. Lee, the company's first restaurant manager, was made President of Red Lobster.

Under General Mills, Red Lobster grew into a chain of almost 400 locations by 1985. The company underwent several restructurings and transformed itself from an inexpensive fast-food seller into a chain of casual dining seafood restaurants by 1988.