These 9 Major Restaurant Chains Are All Owned By One Brand

When you see a given brand on the shelves of your local supermarket, chances are good that it's just one part of a larger business concern. Oreos, for instance, are owned by Mondelez (which owns many other brands, like Ritz crackers and Sour Patch Kids), while both Capri-Sun and Ore-Ida are owned by Kraft-Heinz. To a lesser extent, this is also true of restaurant chains. McDonald's may stand alone these days, but many fast food chains are under the umbrella of a greater corporation. Consider Landry's, which owns Joe's Crab Shack and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.; or Darden Restaurants, which owns, well, a whole lot of different brands.

Darden Restaurants began with Bill Darden, a restauranteur who hit it big by founding Red Lobster before selling it to General Mills (yes, the cereal company). In 1995, General Mills decided to spin off its restaurant chains to focus on its other food brands, forming a new company and naming it after the recently deceased Bill Darden. Although Darden Restaurants no longer owns Red Lobster, having sold it to private equity in 2014, you may be surprised by some of the other chains it still owns and operates. (Until recently, there was another Darden chain, a Caribbean-inspired restaurant called Bahama Breeze, but it shuttered its doors in April 2026.)

Yes indeed, Olive Garden has an unexpected connection to one of America's biggest cereal companies. Before they spun off into Darden Restaurants, General Mills developed the concept for Olive Garden as a chain of casual Italian restaurants with a design inspired by rustic Tuscan farmhouses. The first location opened in 1982; today, there are 956 locations, making it the most widespread Italian chain in America. It goes to show how far unlimited breadsticks will get you, huh?

Darden Restaurants owns a few higher-end steakhouse chains, but arguably its most famous steak-based chain is still relatively affordable. LongHorn Steakhouse was founded in 1981 in Atlanta, and after it was saved from bankruptcy by the hospitality it provided during a freak snowstorm, it became a highly popular chain along the lines of Outback Steakhouse and Texas Roadhouse. LongHorn was acquired by Darden in 2007, and it continues to provide decent, reasonably priced steaks to the American people. (Just be sure to never order these five menu items from there.)

One of Darden Restaurant's higher-end offerings, Ruth's Chris Steak House started life in New Orleans in 1927 owned by Chris Matulich before being sold to Ruth Fertel in 1965. (This is the reason why it's called Ruth's Chris Steak House, no matter how awkward a name it may be.) It was bought by Madison Dearborn in 1999, became a public company in 2005, and was acquired by Darden in 2023.

It may come as a surprise that any chain restaurant is advertised as cooking their food from scratch, but the comfort food-specializing Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen is as close as you're going to get to that ideal. The Olive Garden sister restaurant actually does cook its food from something like scratch, so it's no surprise that a company like Darden would want a piece of the action. First opened in 1979, Cheddar's expanded gradually over the following decades before being acquired by Darden in 2017.

Seasons 52 is, as the name vaguely indicates, themed around the seasons. The menu updates four times a year, using ingredients and dishes that are in season. (In the summer of 2026, for instance, it's offering dishes like ahi tuna tartare and summer corn soup.) The focus is generally on freshness, with the chain boasting that its fruits and veggies are never frozen. On top of that, no dish on its menu exceeds 475 calories. Unlike LongHorn or Cheddar's, Seasons 52 was a Darden enterprise from the word go, opening in 2003.

You know what people like? Beer. Especially in the days following the craft beer revolution, countless restaurants across the country have opened that focus on hops and malt just as much as food. Well, Darden Restaurants wasn't about to let an opportunity like that go to waste. With over 100 beers on tap, Yard House offers classic rock ambience and a solid gastropub menu including old reliables like wings and burgers alongside blackened ahi sashimi and Thai grilled pork chops.

Another of Darden Restaurant's fancier offerings, Eddie V's Prime Seafood started life in 2000, opening in the noted seafood mecca of Austin, Texas. We kid, of course, but Eddie V's is known for its luxury seafood offerings, including oyster, lobster, and caviar. It was acquired in 2011 by Darden Restaurants and currently has 32 locations across America.

Like Eddie V's above, Chuy's was first founded in Austin, Texas before eventually being acquired by Darden. Unlike Eddie V's, though, Chuy's specializes in a somewhat less fancy cuisine. Chuy's offers plenty of Tex-Mex favorites, including tacos, fajitas, and enchiladas. It's small wonder it took off when it first opened in 1982, with Darden buying it in 2024. (Fun fact: the chain enjoyed a boost in profile when then-First Daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush got caught using fake IDs at a Chuy's in 2001.)

The Capital Grille first opened in 1990 in downtown Providence, the capital of Rhode Island. At the time, downtown Providence was not an especially pleasant place to be, and with the country about to enter a recession the decision to open a high-end steakhouse seemed baffling. And yet, it worked out quite nicely; growing into a chain of old-fashioned chophouses with over 70 locations today after being sold to Darden in 2007 (just a year before another recession was about to start, funnily enough).