9 Well-Known Restaurant Chains That Are Owned By The Same Brand

Somewhere along the line, someone put it out there that there are really only a few companies in the world, and every other company falls under the umbrella of one of these mega-corporations. While not technically true (there are actually millions of independently owned businesses the globe over), it does seem that the food industry in the U.S. is especially rarified, with only a handful of major players, including PepsiCo, Tyson, and Kraft Heinz, seemingly the parent-companies for pretty much any grocery store brand you can think of (for example, Kraft Heinz makes Cracker Barrel's supermarket products). There are also restaurant conglomerates, and there is one you have no doubt heard of: Darden Restaurants, the famous owner of such chains as the Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse (and which itself was once owned by General Mills).

However, Darden actually owns nine total well-known restaurants, some of which you might not have realized are actually subsidiaries of this parent company. They're all recognizable by name, though not all of them have quite the same reach as Olive Garden, due to their more limited geography. Without further ado, here are all of the chains that fall under Darden Restaurants' purview.

Starting with the big guy, the Italian-American chain whose soups are made fresh in-house, Olive Garden entered the restaurant foray in 1982, a creation of General Mills. Along with a few other eateries on this list (and a few that didn't make it), Olive Garden's ownership shifted when General Mills was looking to get out of the restaurant industry in 1995, and it created Darden in its stead.

Longhorn Steakhouse was around for over 25 years before Darden acquired it, starting in 1981 with a single restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, and ending in 2007 when it had grown to nearly 300. It passed hands into Darden's ownership when its parent company at the time, Rare Hospitality (which owned another restaurant on this list, as well), was purchased for a mighty $1.4 billion.

Yard House first opened its doors in Southern California in 1996, and it was on a mission: To have a beer on tap for every palate (all right, maybe that wasn't technically its mission, but close enough). Its first location had no fewer than 250 beers on draft, and the concept proved so popular that it had expanded to nearly 40 restaurants by the time Darden swooped in and purchased it for almost $600 million in 2012. It would go on to grow to nearly 100 restaurants by 2026.

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, "Where you can get a lot, for not a lot," has been around for nearly 50 years, but it has only been in the Darden family since 2017. The chain, which is known for its hearty menu featuring comforting American classics, was acquired by its parent company for $780 million and has since grown from 165 locations in 2017 to over 180 today.

Darden's most recent acquisition, Tex-Mex chain Chuy's, was brought into the fold in 2024, with an all-cash purchase of over $600 million. Not only is it the parent company's newest addition, but it's also Darden's first foray into a Mexican concept — and it picked a good one, as the Austin, Texas-based company had 101 locations across 15 different states at the time of the deal, making it the largest sit-down Mexican chain in the U.S.

Seasons 52 bridges the gap between Darden's casual and upscale restaurants by offering a sophisticated, but not stuffy concept where the focus is on freshness (not a single restaurant in this chain has a fryer, for example). It's also the only restaurant owned by the parent company that was created by Darden, for Darden, back in 2003.

With Chuy's representing the most recent Darden acquisition, the legendary Ruth's Chris Steakhouse is second-most, having been purchased in 2023 for $715 million. The meaty chain with the awkward name (which has some sound advice to impart for grilling the perfect steak) began charting its course through history all the way back in 1965, in New Orleans, when single mom Ruth Fertel mortgaged her house to fund her dream.

Remember when we said that when Darden acquired Longhorn Steakhouse from Rare Hospitality in 2007, it also got another restaurant as part of the deal? The Capital Grille is that restaurant, an upscale dining experience that is renowned for its dry-aged steaks and extensive wine list.

Last, but certainly not least, is Eddie V's, a fine-dining seafood concept that was founded in 2000 in Austin, Texas. It passed over into Darden Restaurants' ownership just 11 years later, to the tune of $59 million. It was the parent company's smallest acquisition, with just eight restaurants, all in Texas, but it has since grown to encompass over 30 locations in 15 states.