Earlier this week, Olive Garden announced the return of its never-ending Pasta Pass, a $100 card granting customers eight weeks of unlimited carbs. But as if that weren't enough, the chain is teasing a twist across all of its social channels.
On Tuesday, OG wrote "there's more than meets the eye. #pastapass," alongside a series of I-Spy-like photos for fan speculation. The clues thus far have revealed this: A computer screen printed with "Olive Garden's Pasta Pass is back and bigger than ever with the introduction of the first-ever..." The calendar and clock are set for a 2 p.m. August 15 sale date, and the calculator hints that 24,000 passes will be available for purchase.
None of that is groundbreaking. We've had the Pasta Pass before, we're thrilled it's back, but it sounds pretty much the same as before. Except there's that whole "introduction of the first-ever..." comment. First-ever WHAT!? And while we don't know when or what they're going to reveal, fans have started weighing in with their best guesses.
"I see wine glasses..will a free bottle of wine be included?" one theorized. "Song playing is family affair—maybe there is a family pasta pass that will be available," another commented.
One user's in-depth prediction included the same date, time, and number of passes, but she also speculated there could be half-priced wine; family passes for $240; gold passes; year-round passes for Valentine's Day and St. Patty's; free apps, drinks, and dessert; and even a possible trip to Italy. According to Olive Garden, three of those were spot on. Which? We don't know, but they all sound pretty spectacular, so can't say I'll have any complaints.
What we do know is we'll be ready at 2 p.m. on the dot come August 15. In 2018, Olive Garden sold out of 24,000 passes in less than one minute. You've gotta work fast.
