Brad Davis | The Republic A glimpse of the construction site where Olive Garden is planning construction at 975 Creekview Drive on the southeast corner of 10th Street and Creekview Drive, on July 1, 2025.
The city is planning to reimburse a restaurant company for infrastructure costs related to the Olive Garden that is coming to Columbus.
The Columbus Board of Public Works and Safety on Tuesday approved a reimbursement agreement with Darden Restaurants, the parent company of Olive Garden, that would provide $174,400 in Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) dollars if and when construction is finished on the location on the east side near U.S. 31 (National Road).
A letter Mayor Mary Ferdon wrote to a representative with Darden Restaurants notes the site of the proposed restaurant— at 975 Creekview Drive on the southeast corner of 10th Street and Creekview Drive, next to Kohl’s — lacks adequate natural gas and sanitary sewer line access.
The mayor went on to say the city would reimburse the cost for some development of the site, which she said would help attract visitors, support existing businesses, while also benefiting future business that may want to locate in the same area.
The work the city is intending to reimburse Darden for includes:
- Sanitary Line 8” at 555’ ($48,000)
- Trenching 555’ at varying depth for slope ($55,000)
- Tunnel under 2-lane road or bore ($27,000)
- Fill trench, repair parking lot and landscaping ($44,400)
The agreement requires conditions for the reimbursement, including that the Olive Garden be open by May 30, 2026 and that Darden submit things including contractor invoices and proof of payment to the city prior to any reimbursement. The agreement states that if the conditions are not met, the arrangement would terminate automatically.
In the letter to Darden’s Marty Wilson, a manager of development incentives for the company, Ferdon mentioned the following estimated economic benefit to Columbus as a result of the restaurant:
- 3-4 manager level jobs
- Between 80-90 additional employees (a mix of full- and part-time positions), or 60 full time equivalent (FTE) positions
- $392,000 of sales taxes collected and remitted each year
- $53,000 of property taxes collected and remitted each year
- Construction of a new restaurant building with an estimated capital investment of $5.3 million
City officials confirmed that an Olive Garden could potentially be coming to Columbus in April, something that generated quite a bit of fanfare from people in the community who had been hoping for years for the restaurant to locate here.
A zoning compliance certificate for the future 7,700 square foot building was issued by the city’s planning department in December and a certificate regarding signs on the restaurant were approved in March.
A building permit allowing for construction was in turn issued in May, and work on the site is underway. Crews were out working on Tuesday afternoon within the fenced off site.
An Olive Garden at the same location was in the works over a decade ago, but nothing ever came to fruition.
