Carrabba's Italian Grill

Carrabba's Italian Grill

Type	Subsidiary
Genre	Italian-American restaurant
Founded	1986
Founder(s)	Johnny Carrabba and Damian Mandola
Headquarters	Tampa, Florida, United States
Number of locations	233 (December 2010)[1]
Parent	OSI Restaurant Partners
Website	carrabbas.com

Carrabba's Italian Grill in Durham, North Carolina.

Carrabba's Italian Grill is a chain of over 200 Italian restaurants in 27 U.S. states. Its headquarters are located in Tampa, Florida.^[2]

History

The first ever airport Carrabba's opened at Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Florida in 2008.

The chain was founded on December 26, 1986 by Johnny Carrabba and his uncle Damian Mandola, who opened the first restaurant on Tommy Lee Kirby Drive in Houston, Texas. A second location was opened soon after near the intersection of Woodway Street and Voss Street. Both original locations are still operated by the Carrabba family.^[3]

In January 1993, under a joint partnership with OSI Restaurant Partners, 10 new Carrabba's locations were opened in Houston and Florida.^[4]

In January 1995, OSI Restaurant Partners acquired the rights to develop the Carrabba's chain nationwide.^[4]

In 2007, the OSI Restaurant Partners, which include Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Roy's, Flemings, and Cheeseburger in Paradise, went private. The company's stock is no longer traded on the market.

In 2008, OSI Restaurant Partners teamed up with HMSHost to open the first airport location in Tampa International Airport.^[5]

Menu

Many of the recipes for the dishes on Carrabba's menu are those of Damian's mother Grace and his sister Rose, who currently still work at the Woodway/Voss location in Houston.^[4] After a considerable enlargement of the restaurant, it was renamed "Rosie Carrabba's" in her honor. These recipes are often featured on the PBS cooking show "Cucina Sicilia", which is hosted by Carrabba and Mandola.^[6]

Unlike many other restaurants, Carrabba's does not provide nutritional information for their menu to the public.^[7]

Chicken Bryan

Chicken Bryan is one of Carrabba's Italian Grill's most ordered dishes.^{[citation needed]} It consists of an 8 oz (usually around 227 g) grilled chicken breast, topped with Caprino cheese, sundried tomatoes, and a basil lemon butter sauce. It is served with a cup of homemade soup or a guest's choice of a House, Italian, or Caesar salad. It is also served with the guest's choice of garlic mashed potatoes, cavatappi amatriciana, or the vegetable of the day. (The "vegetable of the day" varies based on location and seasonal availability; typical selections have included broccoli, green beans, zucchini, etc.)

It is named after the city of Bryan, Texas, where the Carrabba family settled in the United States.

Employees

Carrabba's employees are known in the restaurant as Carrabbamicos or for short, just Mico. Servers wear a white pressed and dry cleaned oxford shirt with a tie of their choice (no name brand logos), with dark rinse khaki pants, and black shoes. Hosts must wear a black oxford with the sleeves down, again pressed and dry cleaned, dress slacks, black shoes, and a dress belt. Servers must memorize every item on the regular and specials menu, including ingredients to the base sauces for all entrees, sides, and salads. Although not required, it is highly recommended by management to memorize the wine listings and know which wines go with which foods.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ OSI Restaurant Partners 2010 Annual Report
2. ^ Home page. Carrabba's Italian Grill. Retrieved on January 12, 2010.
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ ^{a b c} Carrabbas Italian Grill
5. ^ Tampa Chamber of Commerce News, [2]
6. ^ Carrabba's Italian Grill
7. ^ Carrabba's Contact Us page, 'Nutritional information' section

External links

	Florida portal
	Houston portal
	Companies portal
	Food portal

• Carrabba's Website