Darden Restaurants to Host New Red Lobster Leadership Conference Call on the Internet

May 20, 2004

ORLANDO, Fla., May 20, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Darden Restaurants, Inc. will host a conference call on Thursday, May 20, at 1:30 p.m. (E.T.). The conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet. Joe Lee, Chairman and CEO, and other senior management invite you to listen to a discussion of New Red Lobster Leadership Changes.

A copy of our press release will be available under the heading "Investor Relations" on our website at www.darden.com.

To listen to the call live, please go to the following website 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. Announces New Red Lobster Leadership
When: 1:30 p.m. (E. T.), Thursday, May 20, 2004
Where: http://www.firstcallevents.com/service/ajwz406923442gf12.html
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 1,200 Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Smokey Bones BBQ, and Seasons 52 restaurants with annual sales of $4.7 billion. Darden is headquartered in Orlando, FL.

SOURCE Darden Restaurants, Inc.

Analysts - Matthew Stroud, +1-407-245-6458, or Media - Jim
DeSimone, +1-407-245-5192, both of Darden Restaurants, Inc.
/Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/105228.html

http://www.darden.com

Copyright (C) 2004 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.

News Provided by COMTEX