Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI)

Darden runs mid-market restaurant chains — Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse — and owns them itself.

Unlike fast food, there are no franchisees here: the company runs the restaurants itself, hires the staff and keeps all the revenue. That demands capital but delivers purchasing scale — buying for hundreds of dining rooms keeps a dish cheaper than a single restaurant of the same standard could manage.

The positioning is an affordable family dinner out, and in a downturn that cuts both ways: some guests trade down to fast food, but others come down from expensive restaurants. The main costs are food and labour, both rising faster than menu prices can be raised. Risks: guest traffic and staffing costs. Darden pays a high dividend.