CONTACT:
Stephanie
L. Amberg
Vice President of Public Relations, OSI Restaurant
Partners, Inc.
813/282-1225
Carrabba’s Italian
Grill Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Tampa, Florida (December 2006) – Carrabba’s
Italian Grill is celebrating its 20th anniversary
on Tuesday, December 26th. Since its humble beginnings
as a small family-owned restaurant in Houston, Texas,
Carrabba’s has become renowned for its flavorful
hand prepared recipes.
“This is a significant milestone for Carrabba’s,”
says Johnny Carrabba who co-founded the restaurant
in 1986 with his uncle, Damian Mandola. “Our
family is very proud of the growth and success of
Carrabba’s and the number of lives that we’ve
touched across the country, from our customers to
our employees. We are appreciative and extremely grateful
for the loyalty and support of our customers over
the years – we look forward to serving them
for many years to come.”
The recipient of glowing accolades from culinary publications
throughout the country, Carrabba’s was recently
named the top rated Italian concept in terms of quality
and service by Restaurants & Institutions Magazine’s
“2006 Consumers’ Choice in Chains Survey.”
“Our original goal was to create the type of
restaurant that one would find in New York’s
Little Italy – casual and lively with superior
Italian food,” says Carrabba. “We have
never lost sight of our roots. Our legacy of delivering
fresh, flavorful food and warm hospitality remains
at the core of our business.”
If any two people were “born to cook,”
it is certainly Carrabba and Mandola. These two kindred
spirits share a passion for food and hospitality matched
only by their love of family and friends. Part of
a close-knit family whose ancestors came to the United
States from Sicily in the late 1890s, they have grown
up surrounded by wonderful food. Beyond their notoriety
in the restaurants, they have become well-known names
throughout the country as hosts of three seasons of
the popular PBS cooking show series, Cucina. They
have also published three cookbooks in association
with the show.
Carrabba’s currently operates in 32 states and
has 217 restaurants.
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