Indoor Dining at the Times Square Olive Garden

Before the pandemic, the Times Square Olive Garden was the chain’s best-performing location. Photo: Richard Levine/Corbis via Getty Images It was mid-afternoon on the first day of indoor dining’s return to the city, and Maddy Rotman was waiting for two friends outside the Olive Garden in Times Square. The 26-year-old grew up watching commercials for the chain’s trademark combo of unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks, but her parents had never taken her to try it.

This has not been the case during the pandemic. Takeout brings in a tiny portion of Olive Garden’s regular sales, and setting up outdoor dining hasn’t been an option for a restaurant that is quite literally located in the center of Times Square. And even if it had been an option, who would fill the seats? There aren’t a ton of tourists to trap. Broadway has gone dark. Only 8 percent of the city’s office workers had returned to their desks as of August.

I lingered until about 9 p.m., and I never saw more than about ten people dining at once the whole time I was there. Plus, companies like Darden are built on a foundation of detailed rules and mandates for staff. While that may not make for an authentic — whatever that means — Italian dining experience, it’s actually pretty ideal during a pandemic.

allie_conti I love Olive Garden!

allie_conti Olive Garden is the McDonald's of Italian 'food.' If there's nothing else in the middle of nowhere, I'll go. NYC? Little Italy or the 4 train to the Bronx, then the Bx12 bus to Arthur Avenue, no exceptions.

allie_conti TOURISTS.

allie_conti Tourists

allie_conti Maybe there are Tourists in the city after all.

allie_conti I miss the Sbarro’s...

allie_conti I admit I was excited to get in at Chef_db_NYC this weekend but alas, so was everyone else but now I’m not so sure I’m ready.

allie_conti This is the wrong direction to be going now. The virus is not under control yet in New York or in the nation. We should be focused on getting those numbers down, not getting things open again. It's just going to prolong our misery.

allie_conti “I was grateful to see a metal fork instead of the plastic we’ve all endured fearing illness.” Does...does this woman not own any forks?

allie_conti Someone who wasn’t done with their bottomless bread sticks.

allie_conti People who aren’t elitist douches, I reckon?

allie_conti We don't condescend much.

allie_conti That and the old McDonald's always made me laugh when they were packed

allie_conti Perhaps because chain restaurants and bars were the only ones that could afford to ride out bumbling debalsio's lockdown.

allie_conti A buffet? Now? Are you out of your mind?

allie_conti Why are you shaming the Olive Garden? Have you seen that view of Times Square. Maybe somebody wanted never ending breadsticks. Smh.

allie_conti

allie_conti AoDespair THE DEUCE finale energy.

allie_conti wow, I didn't know that many tourists were in NYC!

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