Why Olive Garden's Bosses Got Fired Over Breadsticks #188

This week, Harley and Big Lynch autopsy the strangest coup in restaurant history. In 2014, hedge fund Starboard Value published a 294-slide deck roasting Olive Garden: 700 million breadsticks a year at three per guest, breadsticks that tasted like hot dog buns, a $42 million signage change, and pasta water left unsalted to protect a warranty on the pots. Darden management answered with 24 slides. So shareholders fired all twelve directors in what Forbes called the first total overthrow of an S&P 500 boardroom. The boys connect it back to the Red Lobster fire sale that started the war, break down the deck's greatest hits, and tally the body count: one CEO, twelve directors, one corporate jet. Plus: the 100-pound chocolate bar gets a Lynch layer, and a Chef Atari callback. New episodes of Double Dusted Discussion, every Monday! Join the Discord, Harley's Trap House, and check out the Double Dusted Discussion channel. Tell us what you think at r/EpicMealTime, @EpicMealTime on Twitter, or business@epicmealtime.com. Make sure to subscribe and follow the podcast. New episodes every Monday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices