Is Olive Garden Open or Closed on Labor Day 2018?

With Labor Day 2018 arriving on Monday, September 3, 2018, many people are looking for a place to eat, and some people are wondering whether Olive Garden restaurants are open on the national holiday.

Olive Garden restaurants are open on Labor Day. They do close for other holidays but Labor Day is not one of them. “Olive Garden hours vary by location. Please find your nearest restaurant to see hours of operation,” the restaurant’s website notes. “Lunch is served Monday through Friday until 3pm. Our practice is to serve our dinner menu all day on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. As a courtesy to guests who ask, we will provide a lunch menu at any time. There are some regional variations.”

Olive Garden did decide to do something special for Labor Day by honoring first responders. Olive Garden is delivering lunch to first responders in the area of 850 of its restaurants.

Here’s what you need to know:

Olive Garden Pays Tribute to First Responders With Pasta & Breadsticks

According to a press release, “Each of Olive Garden’s more than 850 restaurants will deliver pasta, salad and breadsticks to emergency teams in their communities.” The release adds, “Thank you. Those two little words have a big job to do when it comes to expressing a nation’s gratitude to its first responders.” A restaurant in Scranton, Pennsylvania has been doing this for 17 years.

“We are showing our appreciation for emergency responders who are working to protect us every single day including Labor Day, when many people have the day off,” said General Manager Michael Mosiniak in the release. “It’s important to pay tribute to these heroes in our communities.”

You Will Only Find Olive Garden Restaurants Closed on Two Holidays

Although Olive Garden touts the fact that it serves dinner on holidays, there are two holidays for which that is not true: Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

“Olive Garden restaurants are closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day to allow our team members to spend time with their family and friends,” the restaurant chain states under holiday hours. “Depending on the amount of business on the day before these holidays, the restaurants may close early. We leave this decision to the discretion of the management team. Please contact the restaurant directly for the scheduled closing time the day before Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve.”

On Labor Day and any other holiday, it’s a good idea to check your individual restaurant before going to see the store hours, as they can vary by location. You can use Olive Garden’s individual store locator to find the phone number for specific Olive Garden restaurants. You can find that here.

Olive Garden restaurants tend to be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The History of Labor Day

Why is Labor Day celebrated in the United States? It’s important to remember that it wasn’t always about cooking out. According to USA Today, the origins of the holiday derive from the poor working conditions in the 1800s. Children worked dangerous jobs, work days were incredibly long, and workers often faced hazards on the job, the newspaper reported. Congress made the first Monday every September a national Labor Day in 1894 after a workers’ strike and riots broke out over the bleak working conditions for many Americans, USA Today reported.