Olive Garden plans to take over a closed Uno Pizzeria & Grill in Webster, New York, with a more than 200-seat restaurant still awaiting town planning board approval.
The national Italian chain has put forward a proposal to redevelop the former Uno location in the greater Rochester suburb, The Sun reported. The project is in site review and has not received final site plan approval.
Uno Pizzeria & Grill shut the Webster restaurant on New Year’s Eve 2024. That closing ended the brand’s last upstate New York location and left the commercial site empty.
Olive Garden’s proposal now heads to the Webster town Planning Board. The board is set to hear the restaurant plan at its October 6 meeting.
Plans describe a large build-out. The proposed Olive Garden would cover about 1.81 acres, or more than 78,700 square feet. It would seat more than 200 people and include to-go service. Renderings point to a stone-and-wood-style exterior common to the chain’s newer stores.
No opening date has been announced. Webster’s website still lists the project as undergoing site review, short of final clearance.
Olive Garden already runs three restaurants in the greater Rochester area, in Greece, Henrietta, and Victor. A Webster site would add a fourth option for local diners who know the chain for casual Italian fare and unlimited breadsticks.
The Webster bid fits a broader expansion push. Olive Garden and sister brand LongHorn Steakhouse plan to open 40 to 45 new locations. The Webster project is one local piece of that larger rollout, still subject to town review before any construction schedule is set.
Uno’s exit left a vacant restaurant pad in a suburban commercial corridor. Olive Garden’s application is the concrete bid to put that land back into full-service dining use. Until the Planning Board finishes its work and grants final site plan approval, the takeover remains a proposal on paper.
Empty commercial sites do not fill themselves. When a national chain steps up to replace a closed restaurant, local boards that stick to clear rules help shoppers, workers, and taxpayers get a working storefront instead of another dark lot.