Olive Garden-Why Wont You Come To Great Falls

Olive Garden Strict Requirements For Franchising

We have heard time and time again why it would be so great to have Olive Garden in Great Falls but still we end up with nothing.

I think we will finally make some progress once we have a Texas Roadhouse here (if that ever does happen) but that could take a while still. Tony Roma's being added to Great Falls has been a step in the right direction.

READ MORE: Where Should Texas Roadhouse Be In Great Falls?

Olive Garden Requires Perfection

Many years ago my parents were working with someone trying to get Olive Garden here but at that time it was a pretty strict relationship between Olive Garden and Red Lobster meaning one could not come without the other.

At the time they were told the airport didn't have enough flights to bring the amount of seafood that would be needed by Red Lobster. However, our airport has since grown drastically. So I want to know

Why Doesn't Great Falls Have An Olive Garden Yet?

It turns out each Franchise has a whole slew of requirements that must be met before they can even consider going to a specific town, including the population has to be at least 100,000 people (as of 2022 we hit over 60 thousand) and the space needs at least 130 parking spots!

READ MORE: 15 Red Flags For Restaurants In Montana

The franchise owners have to meet all of these requirements, so that when a patron walks into an Olive Garden it feels and tastes exactly like the last time they went.

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Until Great Falls can meet all of the requirements we unfortunately wont see an Olive Garden any time soon.