Olive Garden's Pasta Passes Go Live Thursday

Pasta fiends, grab your forks. Olive Garden's Never Ending Pasta Passes go on sale tomorrow at 2 p.m. And this year, there's a whole lot more of them to go around.

The pass, which costs $100 and looks like a credit card complete with the owner's name printed on it, entitles diners to an unlimited amount of pasta, soup, salad and breadsticks over a seven-week period each fall. In previous years, the company sold only a limited number of passes.  And last year, all 2,000 available passes sold out in seconds. This year, the company is increasing the number of passes by tenfold to 21,000, Bloomberg reports.

While the passes alone will rake in $2.1 million for the company, the impact of the cards is intense. Pass holders visit the restaurant an average of 28 times during that seven-week window and often take along friends. Jose Duenas, the executive vice president of marketing for the chain says, "We were able to generate new excitement for a fan-favorite promotion while tapping into our most loyal guests and allowing them to serve as brand ambassadors."

Those looking for a one-time carbohydrate splurge can also take advantage of the chain's never-ending pasta promotion this season; $9.99 gets customers their choice of pasta, sauce and toppings. We'll see you on the other side of the pasta-induced nap.