AVONDALE — The city's very first Olive Garden is coming soon to a Kmart parking lot in Avondale.
A spokesman for Sears Holdings Corporation, Kmart's parent company, confirmed the Kmart at 3443 W. Addison St. will lease land for an Olive Garden restaurant, but he did not have additional details.
In a newsletter to constituents Thursday, Ald. Rey Colon (35th) said the 7,700-square-foot, $1.2 million restaurant would be built in the Kmart's "rarely used west parking lot" over the summer.
The alderman and his staff did not respond to a request for comments Thursday, but in the newsletter Colon expressed excitement for the project, noting that representatives from Olive Garden's parent company, Darden Enterprises, promised to hire locally and support community programs.
The restaurant will employ about 100 full- and part-time employees, and seat some 245 patrons.
A spokeswoman for the Orlando-based Italian restaurant chain could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Though there are 10 Olive Garden restaurants in nearby suburbs, this will be the first one in the city.
