The Rise, Fall, And Resurgence Of Chili's
Chili's is an iconic American brand that has been around for 50 years. With more than 1,600 restaurants across 28 countries and two US territories, most people have probably dined at this popular casual Tex-Mex joint at some point in time. Many of us have fond memories around a table enjoying Chili's baby back ribs, frozen margaritas, or fajitas. For some, the catchy advertising jingles may recall childhood nostalgia of a simpler time.
In recent years, Chili's has found viral success on the internet, bringing customers old and new flooding back through its doors. But it wasn't too long ago that the chain was struggling to stay afloat. So why did it fade away, and what brought it back? Let's take a look at Chili's journey through time, from its humble beginnings and initial success to its recent challenges and resurgence, and analyze the reasons for its highs and lows.
Read more: 7 Taco Bell Menu Items From The 1980s You Probably Forgot About
Chili's opened in 1975 as a laidback dining experience inside of an old post office building in Dallas, Texas. At the time, restaurants were mostly limited to fine dining steakhouses and small cafes, and fast food was just gaining popularity. Founders Larry Lavine, Malloy Buckner, and John Foshee wanted to create something different.
After entering a famous chili cook-off competition in Terlingua, Texas, Lavine was inspired by seeing how the bold flavors and fun atmosphere brought people together. He envisioned a restaurant that would embody the Texas flair, serving high-quality food in a laidback and playful environment.
The original Chili's menu was simple: chili, burgers, fries, and tacos. New laws allowed restaurants to serve liquor-by-the-drink, so the restaurant offered $1.50 margaritas and 75-cent beers. The green walls and denim-clad staff encouraged customers to come as they were. Chili's goal was to be a local hangout -- a place where friends would gather or stop by after work and unwind.
At first, Chili's goal was humble. Lavine hoped to at least make $100 in sales per day. But after the restaurant received several rave reviews in the Dallas Times-Herald newspaper, it began to have lines wrapped around the building.
Customers just couldn't get enough of Chili's. They loved the huge Texas-sized portions made with high-quality ingredients for a low price. They also loved the fun atmosphere that the restaurant created with mood lighting and music.
Soon, Chili's began to expand, opening its second location in Houston, Texas, then moved on to open locations in other states. By 1983, the chain had 23 restaurants. Its footprint wasn't the only thing that was expanding -- it also expanded its menu to include fajitas and nachos, leaning into the bold Mexican flavors that customers loved.
In 1983, Chili's was purchased by restaurateur Norman Brinker, who it refers to on its website as the "father of the restaurant industry and the inventor of the salad bar." Under Brinker's leadership, the chain evolved into a portfolio company, opening restaurants worldwide.
Chili's baby back ribs were introduced in 1986, but it wouldn't be until the 1990s that the restaurant made a marketing move that would embed it into American culture forever. In 1995, Guy Bommarito penned the now-famous baby back ribs jingle for Chili's while working at Austin-based ad agency GSD&M. It premiered in 1997 in a commercial that featured Chili's employees serving up the ribs and singing to customers.
By 1999, the jingle had become so iconic that Michael Myers sang it in the movie "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me." A collab with N*SYNC saw the trendy boy band harmonizing to the jingle in two 2002 ad spots, launching it even further into the cultural zeitgeist. In 2004, AdAge named the baby back ribs jingle the No. 1 catchiest song, beating out "YMCA" and "Who Let the Dogs Out?" It's safe to say that Chili's was on America's mind.
Chili's star continued to rise in the 2000s. In 2005, the second season of NBC's popular mockumentary-style sitcom "The Office" ran an episode revolving around the restaurant. In the episode, off-kilter boss Michael hosts an awards show for the Dunder Mifflin Scranton employees at a Chili's. It was there that fan-favorite character Pam would utter a phrase that would eventually become a long-standing pop culture reference: "I feel God in this Chili's tonight."
As social media became more prevalent, references to Chili's began to appear there, too. In 2015, creator Adam Perkins uploaded a comedy video to Vine in which he parodied the chain's mid-2000s slogan, "Welcome to Chili's." Users loved the absurdist comedy of the clip, in which Perkins awkwardly utters the famous slogan while taking a mirror selfie video in his bathroom. Within a year, the video had over 20 million views. The video would be remixed and parodied by hundreds of other creators, keeping Chili's in the spotlight for years to come.
By the late 2010s, the casual dining industry was no longer booming. Consumers were consistently choosing fast casual or fast food options like Chipotle and Chick-Fil-A over sit-down casual options, leading to nationwide closures of big chain restaurants.
Chili's tried to combat this decline by adding trendier, health-conscious items like fried buffalo cauliflower and tilapia. This bet didn't pay off –- after reporting an 8.6% decline in year-over-year revenues in 2017, it opted to go back to basics and announced it would cut 40% of its menu.
Yet Chili's continued to struggle as the pandemic delivered another hit to sit-down restaurants, with delivery services and at-home meal kits gaining popularity. The chain attempted to compete by adding more to-go options, but it still couldn't seem to rekindle the success of the prior years.
In 2022, Chili's parent company Brinker International appointed a new CEO, Kevin Hochman, who previously led KFC and Old Spice back to prominence. Hochman recognized that the chain's years of advertising based on deals and discounts was cutting into profits and preventing it from investing in the service and atmosphere that made the restaurant popular all those years ago.
Under Hochman's leadership, Chili's invested more than $400 million to simplify the menu even further, hire more staff and renovate outdated restaurants. By taking the menu back to basics, Chili's made it easier for chefs to prepare food faster and with more consistency.
Chili's still offered great value, but it was more in tune with what customers wanted –- a "twice the beef" Big Smasher burger, revamped Nashville Hot Chicken Crispers, $6 margaritas, and a $10.99 meal deal. These options allowed Chili's to compete with fast food chains, whose prices had been steadily rising in recent years.
The success of Chili's new menu was bolstered by videos on TikTok. The first menu item to go viral was the revamped Triple Dipper deal, which offers customers three appetizers of their choice for less than $20. A trend emerged where creators filmed themselves biting into the new mozzarella sticks to see how long they could stretch the "cheese pull." User videos gained hundreds of thousands of likes and thousands of comments from others expressing their desire to try the item.
Chili's also worked with creative marketing agencies to build on the social media attention. Piggybacking on the popularity of the chain's mozzarella sticks, a TikTok-exclusive menu item was created: Nashville Hot Mozzarella Sticks. Chili's videos promoting the new item got more than 1 billion impressions on the app.
When a bride's TikTok video about her Chili's-catered wedding went viral, the brand capitalized on the opportunity by offering free catering to the first three couples to get engaged at Chili's.
Hundreds of couples shared their videos getting engaged, driving massive traffic to Chili's socials. The impact of social media engagement is tangible –- Chili's sales increased by 70% in 2024, with the Triple Dipper accounting for 11% of Chili's revenue.
You might be wondering if Chili's resurgence is just a social media trend. So many TikTok viral crazes have come and go in the span of a year - could the love for Chili's be a passing fad? It doesn't seem like it. Chili's smart investments and savvy marketing tactics have bolstered its revival, and customers continue to demonstrate their loyalty to the again-beloved brand. Brinker reported Chili's same-store sales were up 7.4% year-over-year in 2024, while Q1 2025 saw a 14.1% increase.
Other casual restaurant chains have tried to replicate the Chili's success story. Both Applebee's and McDonald's have responded directly to the chain's success by introducing new value meals -- the Really Big Meal Deal and McValue Menu, respectively. Only time will tell if these tactics pay off, but Chili's doesn't seem too concerned. "Undercut us all you want," CEO Kevin Hochman told CNN. "It's not going to matter." Sounds like the new Chili's is here to stay.
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