Pasta Pass back at Olive Garden

You can never have enough pasta.

Last year, the 1,000 Pasta Passes sold out within 45 minutes, so Olive Garden has increased the number of passes up for sale this year.

On Sept. 17, at 2 p.m. eastern time, 1,000 of each type of Pasta Pass will be available here: www.OliveGarden.com/never-ending-pasta-pass.

When you consider that in NYC, one order of soup, salad and breadsticks is over $10, you only have to dine there about 9 times to get your money’s worth of breadsticks alone. “We were thrilled with the response to our Never Ending Pasta Pass last year, and that’s why we are excited to expand the offer to give families a way to join in the celebration together”. The passes are good for unlimited servings of pasta from October.

This promotion is being held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Olive Garden’s “Never Ending Pasta Bowl”, the Associated Press reports.

Bringing Back the Pasta Pass is a smart move for Olive Garden, especially the inclusion of a gluten-free choice.

“We see it as a manifestation of Italian generosity”, he said.

Last year, the internet totally freaked out over Olive Garden’s Never Ending Pasta Pass. Unlimited pasta for two months can do that to a person. It’s important to not that they are not transferable, so the pass holder has to be the one to use it.

Even though the Pasta Passes generated a lot of attention for Olive Garden, parent company Darden Restaurants Inc.is still working on turning around the chain’s performance after its board was taken over by investor Starboard Value. But the lift has been a result of higher pricing and menu mix; customer visits have continued to slip.