By Heather Haddon

Casual-dining company Darden Restaurants believes it may be benefiting from consumers being sick of high beef costs at grocery stores.

Darden finance chief Raj Vennam said Thursday that retail demand for beef has plunged in November. Executives from Darden, which owns LongHorn Steakhouse and Olive Garden among other chains, think that people could be visiting places like LongHorn for their steak fix instead.

LongHorn's same-store sales grew 5.9% during the three months ended Nov. 23 from the prior year.

Restaurants have struggled with high beef costs this year given low supplies of cattle for slaughter. Darden's earnings in the latest quarter slightly missed analysts' expectations as a result of higher commodity costs, with beef expenses running high. The chain believes its beef costs will improve by next spring as inflation eases.

Shares gained 3.5% in morning trading.

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December 18, 2025 10:46 ET (15:46 GMT)

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