The story of Clarence Otis Jr. – Darden CEO leads Red Lobster and Olive Garden

Chalk this one up to the infinite list of things I didn’t know. Thanks to Rose for the heads up.

The Higher Education of the Nation’s Top African-American Restaurateur

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Each week tens of thousands of diners eat at an Olive Garden or Red Lobster restaurant. Few of these diners know that the CEO heading these large restaurant chains is a black man.

Clarence Otis Jr. is the CEO of Darden Restaurants Inc., the largest casual dining operator in the nation. The firm operates nearly 1,400 company-owned restaurants coast to coast serving 300 million meals annually. Darden employs 150,000 workers and has annual revenues of $6 billion.

Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Otis moved to Los Angeles when he was 6 years old. His father was a high school dropout who worked as a janitor.

The family lived in Watts at the time of the 1965 riots. In the post-Watts period, Otis recalls being stopped and questioned by police several times a year because of the color of his skin.

A high school guidance counselor recommended him for a scholarship at Williams College, the highly selective liberal arts institution in Massachusetts. Otis graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams and went on to earn a law degree at Stanford.

Otis landed on Wall Street as a merger and acquisitions attorney for J.P. Morgan Securities. He joined Darden Restaurants in 1995 as corporate treasurer. He became CEO in 2004.

  • Al Bowman

    After reading this in my belief I for the first time in a long time can honestly say this has been an inspiration.

  • JH

    Congratulations on your success Mr. Clarence Otis Jr. The chain of Successful African American males must continue. Thank You.

  • Brenda Bradford

    Very informative; extremely encouraging….

  • Inga

    I had no idea the CEO was black. Count me in for eating more at the Darden restaurants and giving Darden restaurant gift cards as gifts!!!

  • Peacockhandler

    Why does it have to be a black thing ? There has not been much racial adversity for at least 30 years. I think he is successful because he deserved it as a person who is smart and worked hard.

  • Dottie

    That depends who is looking at this person success. How much he had to endure to get to this stage of being recognize for his ablities.. Peace

  • Lowandshanta

    It’s really not a “Black Thing”. This is information that people don’t know. I am using it as a teaching tool tell let the youth in my church and community know of other successful African Americans other than Dr.Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks etc.

  • jane in chicago

    Absolutely amazing that Clarence Otis doesn’t hire black folk to be top waiters in his restaurants. Unbelievable! One of the industry’s serial offenders [in hiring minorities] is Darden Restaurants, the company that owns and operates Olive Garden, Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse and the high-end Capital Grille.

    Black applicants are rarely hired at the Capital Grille, the only place within the company where workers can earn a living wage. And there’s no clear pipeline for workers to get from jobs at Red Lobster and Olive Garden to that higher-paid work.3

    Darden is now facing a lawsuit because of its employment practice.

  • www.loudmouthinthebalcony.com

    Not much racial adversity for at least 30 years? Now THAT’s news!