Italian food has become a staple of US culture.
“Today, of the 800,000 restaurants in the US, about 100,000 offer Italian food. But although the majority are pizzerias and casual restaurants, there is also a significant portion of fine restaurants,” Krishnendu Ray, director of NYU’s Food Studies program and author of “The Ethnic Restaurateur,” told the National Gestaurateur.
Meanwhile, there are about 40,000 restaurants each of Chinese and Mexican restaurants, with very few fine dining options among them.
Americans eat a lot of Italian food, according to data from the National Restaurant Association (NRA).
“Sixty-one percent of the 1,000 people surveyed by the NRA said they ate Italian food at least once a month, and 26% said they ate it a few times a year. In comparison, the other two ‘big three’ cuisines in the United States, Mexico and China, were eaten at least once a month on 50% of those days, and 3 a few times a year. 31% and 42% of respondents, respectively,” said the NRA.
Despite the demand for Italian food, the once-thriving chain, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, has closed more than 85% of its restaurants, leaving the chain with only nine locations remaining.
Macaroni Grill was meant to be a competitor to Olive Garden
Romano’s Macaroni Grill has gone down a notch.
The chain began with a strong pedigree, founded in San Antonio in 1988 by restaurateur Phil Romano, the creator of Fuddruckers. It was acquired by Chili’s owner Brinker International the following year.
“Positioned as a rival to Olive Garden, Romano offered typical Italian fare and stuck to its Italian theme: It had opera singers and held Italian language lessons in its bathrooms,” reported Restaurant Business.
The chain grew rapidly under Brinker, peaking at 237 locations in 2006, most of which are company-owned, according to data from sister company Restaurant Business Technomic.
Brinker sold it to private equity firm Golden Gate Capital in 2008 for $131.5 million, a price that was later revised to $88 million after the recession.
At its peak, Macaroni Grill built a strong business around its “make-your-own-pasta” offering.
Customers are given a sheet that offers many options, and they can check the boxes to create their own custom pasta dish. That offering was paired with fresh bread, and the tables were covered with heavy white paper on which the waiters wrote their names.
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What went wrong with Romano’s Macaroni Grill
While Romano’s Macaroni Grill has struggled, rival Olive Garden has thrived with a simpler playbook.
“Olive Garden simplified its restaurants and its promotional calendar. It used fewer discounts, relied on ‘everyday value’ marketing while emphasizing lunch to boost sales that way,” according to Restaurant Business.
The chain also made a subtle, but important operational change.
“It has also focused on its takeout business, which has grown significantly in recent years. Takeout now represents about 14% of Olive Garden’s sales. Few traditional restaurants can boast such levels,” shared the industry’s website.
Romano’s Macaroni Grill filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017, quickly closing 37 locations.
Some restaurants
At the time, it was owned by Arizona-based RedRock Partners LLC, which acquired the chain from Ignite Restaurant Group Inc. in 2015 for $8 million.
In its filing, Macaroni Grill cited price cuts and increases in labor and material costs, which hurt profits, Nation’s Restaurant News reported.
Nishant Machado, the company’s acting CEO at the time of the filing, blamed the chain’s problems on “the overall decline of the restaurant industry,” which includes customers choosing “cheaper and faster alternatives.”
Romano’s Macaroni Grill survived, but is still struggling
While Romano’s Macaroni Grill survived its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it has been on a downward spiral since the filing.
“The pandemic took a toll on Romano’s. It closed half of its locations in 2020, bringing its footprint to 43 restaurants. And unlike other mainstream restaurant chains, it didn’t enjoy a COVID-19 setback,” Restaurant Business said in December 2025.
Sales have declined every year since as it has continued to close locations.
In 2024, the chain dropped from Technomic’s list of the top 500 restaurant chains in America by sales.
Macaroni Grill’s problems, however, are not a commentary on restaurant life in the broader sense.
“The restaurant industry is notoriously competitive,” Sara Senatore, a Bank of America restaurant analyst, told Investopedia. “And in the current situation, what we are seeing is a return to intense competition.”
Restaurant Business Executive Editor Jonathan Maze said the chain’s decline was the result of management decisions, not the economy.
“The story of Mac Grill has many aspects the story of the decline of traditional food. For many years, the Italian chain was a popular concept, a kind of Olive Garden of the next generation,” he wrote in the NRN column.
The struggle of the chains, he said, was always the same no matter who was in charge.
“Mac Grill’s problems have been consistent, since the last decade, and have plagued many owners and CEOs,” he added.
Macaroni Grill, however, did not give up. The company added a fast-acting concept, Twisted Mac, and is still selling franchises.
“Whether you are looking for the prestige of a national legacy brand or the high growth potential of a modern QSR, our portfolio offers two different ways to bring true Italian hospitality to your market. Both brands are powered by the same commitment to quality, generosity, and the philosophy of First Guests,” the company shared on its website.
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This story was originally published by TheStreet on May 10, 2026, where it appeared first in the category Restaurants. Add TheStreet as a favorite source by clicking here.
