Olive Garden finally returning to Ontario and first GTA location is in popular mall

Pasta lovers, unite. Popular American restaurant chain Olive Garden is officially making its long-awaited return to Ontario this summer with two new locations, including one at Vaughan Mills. 

Vaughan-based restaurant company, Recipe Restaurant Group International, announced back in July that it had acquired all eight of Canada's Olive Garden locations in a deal with Darden Restaurants Inc. 

The deal, which did not have its financial terms disclosed, included an agreement where Recipe received exclusive rights to operate new Olive Garden restaurants in Canada. 

As part of its expansion, Recipe confirmed last week that the first new Olive Garden restaurants under its control will open at Vaughan Mills, followed by a second location in Ottawa's Westboro Village. 

Both locations are currently under development and are expected to open sometime this summer, so if you're in the mood for freshly baked breadsticks and never-ending pasta, you won't have to travel across the U.S. border to get your fix. 

More locations are in "various stages of planning" and will be announced in the following months, as the brand's expansion in Canada continues.

Olive Garden previously boasted nearly a dozen locations in Ontario throughout the 1990s, but the brand's presence faded entirely by the end of the decade. Olive Garden's current restaurants in Canada are located in Langley, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg. 

Recipe's portfolio of over 1,000 restaurants includes several well-known brands across Canada, including Swiss Chalet, Harvey's, Montana's, New York Fries, Kelsey's, East Side Mario's, and The Pickle Barrel.