ORLANDO, FLA. Company plans chain of eateries with healthful food

Dishes at the new restaurant chain will have at least 25 percent fewer calories than other eateries.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Darden Restaurants, the company behind the Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze chains, plans to test a restaurant concept that emphasizes a healthy, low-calorie menu of fresh grilled meats, chicken and fish and a wide range of wines.
A prototype restaurant for the Seasons 52 concept will open in Orlando in February, company officials said Thursday. If it succeeds, more restaurants will be rolled out to form the fifth restaurant chain for the Orlando-based company.
The concept will include optional reservations, dishes tailored by a nutritionist and a menu that is altered weekly to account for the availability of seasonal vegetables, fruits and meats.
Darden officials hope the new concept appeals to baby boomers who are concerned about eating healthier as they get older.
Calorie-conscious
The dishes at Seasons 52 will have at least 25 percent less calories than dishes at other casual dining restaurants. No main-course dish will have more than 475 calories, and no appetizer, soup or dessert will have more than 250 calories, said Blaine Sweatt, president of Darden's New Business Division.
"It will be great-tasting but low in calories," Sweatt said. "There are ample portions. You won't go away hungry."
Darden already operates 1,200 Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze and Smokey Bones restaurants that generate $4.4 billion in annual sales. It earned $237.8 million in fiscal year 2002, which ended in May, a 20 percent increase over the previous year.
With menu items such as wild-caught Pacific King Salmon on fresh gourmet greens served with chilled asparagus and a ginger soy dressing, Darden officials expect Seasons 52 to appeal to a more sophisticated diner than the Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurants. Main course dishes will be priced in the mid-teen range, and the restaurant will offer more than 100 wine selections.
"Some of the menu items may be a little esoteric," Sweatt said.
Past failures
In the past, restaurant companies such as Sonic Corp. and Chili's, weren't successful at adding healthy menu items, said Lynne Collier, an analyst with Stephens Inc. in Dallas.
"Concepts centering on healthy eating haven't worked because consumers want to indulge when they go out ... You can eliminate the calories, but you must have the flavor if the consumer is going to come back," Collier said.
The idea of changing dishes on the menu based on the availability fresh, seasonal ingredients is "almost a gourmet-like restaurant" and unusual for a chain, said Bryan Elliott, an analyst for Raymond James in St. Petersburg.
But that very concept, which is logistically complicated, may make Seasons 52 difficult to expand in large numbers in the future, Collier said.
"You can't build thousands of them," she said. "It will never be an Olive Garden."