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William Bristor Darden (November 17, 1918 – March 29, 1994) was an American businessman and the founder of the Red Lobster restaurant franchise. He is also the namesake of the multi-brand restaurant operator Darden Restaurants , which considers Darden to be its founder.
- Bill Darden's Beginnings
- Red Lobster
- Bill Darden's Legacy
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In 1938, when he was just 19 years old, he opened a luncheonette in his hometown of Waycross, Georgia. At the time, fast food was not pervasive. Lunch counters, diners, soda fountains and candy stores were then seen as the way to go. Darden took this path, naming his luncheonette The Green Frog, and advertising it as "Service with a Hop." And he de...
Darden noticed that seafood was the best-selling item in his restaurants. So he took a gamble, trying to see if a full-service seafood restaurant, designed with families in mind and thus priced less than a big-city seafood restaurant might be, would work in an area away from a shore area, reasoning that, if it could work there, it could work anywhe...
Along with Norman Brinker, the founder of the restaurant-management company Brinker International and the man credited with inventing the salad bar, Bill Darden was a pioneer in changing the way people eat out. While men like Ray Kroc of McDonald's and Harland Sandersof Kentucky Fried Chicken made fast, inexpensive food accessible to the masses, Da...
Bill Darden was a Georgia native who opened a luncheonette in 1938 and became one of the richest men in Florida by investing in Howard Johnson restaurants and hotels. He also created the first full-service seafood restaurant chain, Red Lobster, and sold it to General Mills in 1980.
- Don Daszkowski
Darden Restaurants, Inc. is an American multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in Orlando, Florida. As of May 2023, the firm owns three fine dining restaurant chains: Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Eddie V's and The Capital Grille; and six casual dining restaurant chains: Olive Garden Italian Restaurant, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, Yard House and Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen.
Mar 30, 1994 · The Orlando Sentinel News reports the death of William B. Darden, who created the world's largest dinner-house chain with his vision and leadership. Learn about his life, career, and legacy in the restaurant industry.
Learn about the life and achievements of Bill Darden, who opened a diner in Georgia in 1938 and challenged racial segregation. He later founded Red Lobster, a seafood restaurant chain, and became a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist.
Aug 3, 2020 · William Darden. Red Lobsters founder William B. Darden was an entrepreneur from a young age. After seeing the economic downturn that was caused by the Great Depression he was still able to find a way to make it into the business. The prominent eateries were candy stores, diners, soda fountains, lunch counters, as opposed to today when fast food ...
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William B. Darden, the Orlando restaurateur who founded the Red Lobster seafood chain, died Tuesday after an extended illness. He was 75. Darden, described by friends and business associates as ''the true Southern gentleman,'' founded the chain after years of restaurant experience that began when he opened a Depression-era lunch counter The ...
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