ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 13 - Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) is hosting its First Quarter conference call on Thursday, September 20, 2000, at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet. Joe Lee, Chairman and CEO, and other senior management invite you to listen to the first quarter results.

To listen to the call live, please go to the following web site at least fifteen minutes early to register, download, and install any necessary audio software. For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available shortly after the call.

    What:      Darden Restaurants, Inc. First Quarter Earnings Release
    When:      1:30 p.m., Wednesday, September 20, 2000
    Where:     http://www.vcall.com
    How:       Live over the Internet - Simply log on to the web at the
               address above

As the largest casual dining restaurant company in the world, Darden Restaurants, Inc., owns and operates over 1,100 Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Bahama Breeze, and Smokey Bones BBQ restaurants with annual sales of $3.7 billion. Darden is headquartered in Orlando, Fla.