At long last, Brighton may have tempted an Olive Garden to come to town

BRIGHTON — After a few years under the heating lamp, Brighton officials hope they can finally bring Olive Garden’s alfredo sauce and breadsticks to residents — at half the tax revenue it had expected.

Brighton City Council on Tuesday tossed a heaping helping of sales and use tax love to the iconic Italian franchise by way of a $315,000 incentive agreement to ensure the restaurant brought its pasta fare to town. The City Council voted unanimously, with one member absent, to approve the agreement.

Robin Martinez, director of Brighton Economic Development Corporation, previously brought forth an amended economic incentive agreement that Olive Garden Holdings LLC, would sign off on after the city’s 10-year quest to bring the iconic restaurant to town. 

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The deal was to bring a new Olive Garden restaurant in Prairie Center, a $5.2 million investment into town, and deliver over $5 million in sales annually. The restaurant would create 80 net new jobs. But there were eventual hiccups that prevented the project.

“Due to the high cost of development fees, water, and overall construction costs in Colorado, there is a deficit in the cost of the project and the company’s ability to meet their financial threshold to make this project happen in Brighton,” Martinez reported to the council in 2023. 

But the city’s first pass at incentives wasn’t enough.

Martinez went back to the drawing board and worked on an agreement that would guarantee 100% rebate of the city’s 1% sale tax up to a maximum of $250,000, or for eight years, whichever comes first; and a waiver of the $65,000 in use tax it would normally be expected to pay — all so long as the restaurant construction begins by April 30, 2025, and construction continues until its completion. The agreement states the restaurant must open no later than May 31, 2026. 

The agreement also calls for audits of the restaurant’s books every six months. As a fail-safe, the city reserves the right to inspect the restaurant’s books up to seven years after the rebates have been exhausted, as long as the city gives the restaurant a 90-day notice.

While the council said little on Tuesday, they were full of praise the year before, when they said the residents have been consistently asking for an Olive Garden. 

“This has been a long time coming,” said Brighton city manager Michael Martinez in July 2023. “My very first day here … someone asked me within 5 minutes if I was the person who was going to bring Olive Garden to the community. This is something the community has been asking for. Staff has been talking to Olive Garden for longer than I’ve been here, and I’ve been here nine years.”