all the sitting board members in the company's upcoming shareholder elections. In support of their candidacy, it released a 294-slide presentation in early September about how the company had gone wrong and how its directors would restore it to health. While it received considerable media attention for its detailed focus on Olive Garden, in particular the chain's "wasteful" practice of serving too many of its free unlimited breadsticks at once (to prevent food waste due to staleness: instead of one per customer plus an additional one per table; additional breadsticks are served fresh on demand) and not salting the water it boiled pasta in, to secure a longer warranty on the pots, it also attacked management for spending lavishly on the chain's corporate headquarters while paying the general managers of individual restaurants less than its competitors did. Management responded two days later that it was already implementing many of the suggested changes, and said the free breadsticks merely represented "Italian generosity". Nevertheless, in October, shareholders replaced the entire board with Starboard's slate, in what an observer called an "epic fail" for management since that rarely happens. On March 27, 2017, Darden announced its intent to acquire Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen for $780 million from shareholders such as L Catterton and Oak Investment Partners. On March 28, 2017, when Darden announced that it had acquired Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen and "lifted its full-year earnings outlook," the company became the biggest gainer that day on the S&P 500, with shares growing nearly 9 percent. The acquisition was completed on April 24, 2017. Units Olive Garden LongHorn Steakhouse Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Darden's Specialty Restaurant Group Yard House The Capital Grille Seasons 52 Bahama Breeze Eddie V's Prime Seafood Darden Corporation GMRI, Inc. RARE Hospitality International, Inc. RARE Hospitality Management, Inc. See also List of restaurant chains List of food companies List of casual dining restaurant chains List of S&P 500 companies Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange (D) List of Florida companies List of Orlando companies List of Michigan companies References External links Official website Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies based in Orlando, Florida Restaurants established in 1968 Darden Restaurants brands Catering and food service companies of the United States Multinational companies headquartered in the United States 1968 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 1970 mergers and acquisitions Restaurant groups in the United States General Mills Corporate spin-offs