Olive Garden's corporate parent is weighing a move that could quietly turn Rock Hill into a key stop on its supply chain, eyeing a large cold-storage site at 3623 Lazy Hawk Road for a distribution hub that could bring roughly 80 jobs to the area. The plan is still under review, but it would mark a sizable foodservice logistics footprint on the southern edge of the Charlotte metro.
GMRI, the Darden subsidiary, is considering the site
According to the Charlotte Business Journal, GMRI Inc., the legal subsidiary of Darden Restaurants that owns Olive Garden, is exploring the Rock Hill cold-storage facility at 3623 Lazy Hawk Road for distribution operations. The outlet reports the potential project would involve about a $9.35 million investment and is projected to create 80 jobs over five years, although company officials have not publicly committed to the move.
Site is already built for cold-chain users
The 3623 Lazy Hawk Road property, developed by Karis Cold and marketed as Rock Hill Cold, was completed in mid-2024 and offers roughly 277,000 to 279,000 square feet of temperature-controlled space, high clear heights and multiple dock doors designed for refrigerated operations, according to the developer. Those features make it a plug-and-play fit for foodservice distribution, as outlined by Karis Cold.
Tenants and local market traction
Parts of the facility are already spoken for. Industry reporting shows Hissho Sushi signed for about 82,107 square feet and plans to use that space as its corporate headquarters and primary distribution center, a deal that highlights strong interest from food manufacturers and distributors. Recent financing and leasing activity around the building has helped draw investor attention to Rock Hill as a growing cold-chain hub for the broader Charlotte region.
Why Rock Hill makes sense
Rock Hill sits just south of Charlotte, giving operators quick highway access to I-77 and key regional markets while offering lower land and operating costs than sites inside the city. The developer emphasizes those advantages in its marketing. Darden's public materials also note that the company relies on a national logistics footprint to supply its restaurants, so adding a regional cold-storage node in the Charlotte area would be consistent with that distribution model.
What happens next
The Charlotte Business Journal reports that the proposal remains under consideration and that timelines, incentives and final terms are still being negotiated. Any firm commitment would likely follow lease agreements or local approvals. For now, the reporting stands as the main public indication of the plan, and neither company officials nor local leaders issued a formal statement when the story first surfaced.
