Darden Restaurants Inc Q1 2021 Earnings Call Summary

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Christopher Emilio Carril - RBC Capital Markets, Research Division - Analyst : So I just wanted to circle back to margins and specifically on Olive Garden. So the margins at Olive Garden were particularly impressive this quarter despite the sales decline. So how are you thinking about the margins for that brand longer term? Obviously, as the marketing and potential reinvestment spend builds, that will create a drag. But how much of the savings that you found do you think you can hold on to?

Question: Christopher Emilio Carril - RBC Capital Markets, Research Division - Analyst : And then, Rick, in the estimate of recapturing pre-COVID EBITDA dollars at 90% of pre-COVID sales, how does off-premise versus

Question: Jake Rowland Bartlett - Truist Securities, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : I really had 2 quick ones. And the first, on the menu simplification, can you quantify how many less items, for instance, that is? Just going to a have a sense as to the scale of the simplification. And then, Gene, I'm not going to ask you about third-party delivery. I think I know the answer, but I'm curious about your experience with in-house delivery and lowering the minimum check or the minimum order, for instance. Is that something you want to lean into a little bit, maybe continue to lower that to increase your in-house delivery?