The Revival of Chili’s
By 
If this isn’t something for Friday night, I don’t know what is.
Have I ever eaten at a Chili’s? I’m not sure. But if I have, it’s been many years. I assumed it was in full-fledged collapse like all the other 90s mid-market food chains such as Red Lobster or Macaroni Grill. And it was. But as this Texas Monthly article (and by the way, what a great magazine Texas Monthly is), Chili’s has had an amazing comeback based on a two-pronged strategy–leaning into being TEXAS and promoting Gen Z nostalgia for childhood meals on social media.
I am not the only one returning to Chili’s. The chain, which celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in March, is enjoying a TikTok-fueled renaissance and has found a new and faithful customer base in Gen Z. In an era when most U.S. dining chains face precarious futures (and even bankruptcy, in the case of Red Lobster and TGI Fridays), the parent company of Chili’s, Brinker International, recently posted a 31.6 percent increase in quarterly sales (comparing sales at existing locations during the same period this year and last year). It’s a shocking success story.
I finished my lunch quickly because I had places to be. I was expected at the Chili’s headquarters, less than two miles away, near Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. There I would get a tour, peruse some historic memorabilia, try some yet-to-be-released frozen margs, and, most exciting, get some hands-on cooking experience. I would get to see the place where triple-dipped dreams come true.
….
The #cheesepull challenge got its start on TikTok, with videos of people filming themselves at the restaurants pulling Hot Mozz. It began organically, but once Brinker executives noticed how much engagement the videos were getting, they started building on it, said Jesse Johnson, vice president of marketing. Chili’s now regularly partners with content creators to get its food in front of younger audiences, producing not just challenge videos but mukbangs (a style of video that started in South Korea in which influencers eat tons of food—often sloppily—on camera), and other viral trends.
And Gen Z is eating it up: As 22-year-old Carlyn Lee, a Chili’s superfan from Virginia Beach, Virginia, told me, “I watch every single cheese-pull video that’s popped up on my feed. I have not missed a beat.” At Chili’s, “the vibes are good, the food is amazing,” she added. The chain could not provide demographic numbers for its customers, but an informal poll of my younger coworkers, friends, and relatives corroborates the passion. It’s not all love: Some ardent fans have decried the recent decision by Chili’s to remove corn on the cob and other dishes, including its namesake chili, from the menu. But sometimes you have to shake a few margaritas to post the kind of numbers Chili’s is enjoying.
….
Before the viral challenges, before neon jalapeños loomed over every other freeway exit across the nation, before anyone wanted their baby back ribs, Lavine opened the first Chili’s in an old post office at the corner of Greenville Avenue and Meadow Road, in Dallas, in 1975. The original building is no longer there. The Brinker employees I spoke with talked about it with the nostalgic longing of people who almost went to Woodstock. The original menu was much shorter, consisting of chips and salsa, tacos, burgers, frozen margaritas, sangria, beer, and the namesake chili.
Chili’s may no longer serve chili, but its Texan DNA is still visible in today’s menu. The brand uses the phrase “Southwestern-inspired American favorites” as a guide, and accordingly the popular dishes include things like burgers, margaritas, fajitas, and fried chicken. Over the past few years, Chili’s has focused on improving them. On the day I visited, we sampled the newly refreshed frozen margaritas, which, thanks to upgraded machines and higher-end tequila, are a marked improvement on the older, less smooth recipe. (These launched at the end of June.) Fajitas are next up for a makeover, although they’re still being rolled out and not yet considered fully revamped.
It’s not just the food, though. There’s something about Chili’s that occupies a Texas-shaped space in the chain-restaurant landscape. Texas, as a brand, is popular in this world. In April, Texas Roadhouse—based in Louisville, Kentucky—became the casual-dining restaurant with the highest system-wide sales in the country; and San Antonio–founded, Georgia-based Church’s Texas Chicken is leaning into its Texas roots in an attempt to boost sales.
As for Chili’s, Paquette credits the vibes the restaurant has had since day one: “It wasn’t fast food, and it wasn’t fine dining, which I feel is quintessentially Texas already.” It’s a place where you can wear whatever you like and feel comfortable. Johnson, the marketing officer, called it “middle class fancy” and added, “it just feels not very coastal, let’s just say.” Of the 1,208 Chili’s locations in the U.S., Texas claims the most, at 214. (Chili’s saw massive nationwide expansion under former CEO Norman Brinker.) And in 1996, Chili’s had a moment in the sun when its “I want my baby back, baby back, baby back . . . Chili’s . . . baby back ribs” jingle (sung by the late Dallas native Wolf Johnson) became permanently imprinted in the memories of TV viewers.
Not very coastal mostly means it sucks, but OK.
“I told my dad we were coming here,” I overheard a woman in her twenties tell her group of friends as a host showed me to a booth. I was back home in Austin, at my local Chili’s. “He was like, ‘Of all the places you could go!’” Her friends laughed knowingly. I looked around the restaurant, wondering how many people were here for the same reason: to visit the famous—or perhaps infamous?—Chili’s at Forty-fifth Street and North Lamar Boulevard in Austin.
What started as a joke on Reddit—users would suggest the restaurant as a cheeky response to the endless requests from tourists for Austin restaurant recommendations—has morphed into something else. Families pose for photos in front of it. The City of Austin gave it an official day (April 5 for 45th, obviously). It has its own Wikipedia page. And Brinker is well aware: I noticed servers wearing T-shirts that read “Where Locals Hang” over an illustration of the street sign on the corner. It’s one of the ten best-performing Chili’s locations in the country and will be getting a special “flagship” remodel during the brand refresh next year.
I dunno what’s wrong with this country but if we are embracing Trumpism, we might as well embrace Trumpist food too I guess.