Sep. 18--Pinched by a marketplace crowded with casual Italian food and an economy that is squeezing customer wallets, Romano's Macaroni Grill CEO Brad Blum is remaking the restaurant chain image as a more affordable and healthier dining option.

The company today unveils a revamped menu with hopes it will position the 226-restaurant chain against rivals such as Maggiano's Little Italy, Buca di Beppo, Olive Garden and Carrabba's Italian Grill, owned by Tampa-based OSI Restaurant Partners LLC.

The launch includes 20 dishes, seven of which are new and 13 that have been retooled for dramatically lower fat and calorie counts. Gone are lightning rods such as the dessert ravioli, which Men's Health magazine tagged as the "worst dessert in America" for its death-defying 1,630-calorie count.

Ten of the items sell for less than $10. They're dishes that bring in more than 30 percent of Macaroni Grill's business.

The private-equity firm Golden Gate Capital purchased the chain in December with a goal of reversing three years of sagging sales. Blum, once an executive for Burger King and for Olive Garden parent company Darden Restaurants, was hired in January to turn the brand back toward profitability.

Parts of the new menu have debuted in stages this year. The company says trends look positive as a result; the number of customers has risen 8 percent this year.

Better yet, customer feedback indicates the company's attention to the healthfulness of ingredients is making inroads. Among the new alternatives is Executive Chef Antonio Iocchi's shrimp grilled on rosemary skewers.

"We want our guests to feel good after a meal," Blum says. "There's a health cost as well as a monetary cost to consider."

Iocchi said Wednesday by phone from the company's Dallas headquarters that anchoring the menu to more authentic Mediterranean-Italian cuisine returns the food to its simpler roots, with fresh ingredients and lean meats that are closer to what is served in Italian homes.

Corporate restaurants sometimes take a year or more to invent and test new dishes. Blum streamlined the process to remake and reinvent in three months.

"I think our smaller size makes us more nimble and able to respond to the consumer," he said.

Reporter Jeff Houck can be reached at (813) 259-7324.

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