Dallas-based Chili's is attracting younger diners
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Chili's is one of the hottest restaurants in America.
Why it matters: The Dallas-founded casual dining restaurant is booming at a time when many other major restaurant and fast food chains are struggling.
- Chili's reported a 31% increase in sales in the last quarter of 2024, driven by a nearly 20% increase in foot traffic.
Driving the news: The restaurant partnered with Lifetime to release a 15-minute romantic film this week ahead of National Margarita Day.
- The sappy Lifetime original is just the latest in the chain's social media marketing strategy.
The big picture: Chili's memes have taken over social media as the company aims marketing at younger generations. The goal is simple: become relevant again.
- The restaurant airs commercials during major sporting events and uses social media to highlight its deals, like the 3 for Me entree combo and the Triple Dipper appetizer platter.
- Case in point: You might still remember the baby back ribs jingle from the '90s.
What they're saying: The increasing foot traffic shows the restaurant's marketing schemes are working, Brinker International CEO Kevin Hochman told CNBC.
- "We don't think this is the end; we think this is just the beginning of the Chili's turnaround," Hochman said.
What they did: In addition to reintroducing Chili's to younger generations, the chain revamped recipes, streamlined operations — like shifting to a single breading option for Chicken Crispers — trimmed menus and updated dining rooms, per CNN.
Zoom in: Chili's is definitely a Dallas restaurant. It first opened on Greenville Avenue in 1975.
- Restaurateur Norman Brinker, known for Jack in the Box and Bennigan's, bought Chili's in 1983.
- The next year, fajitas were added to the menu. The company claims to have taught Americans how to correctly pronounce the word. By the mid-'90s, Chili's was the No. 1 seller of margaritas.
- Under Brinker International, the chain has opened more than 1,200 restaurants nationwide.
Zoom out: Other casual dining chains haven't been as successful. Dallas-based TGI Friday's filed for bankruptcy in November.
- And there are no longer Red Lobster locations in Dallas after the final ones closed last year amid the chain's financial struggles.
The bottom line: As dining out becomes more expensive, Chili's increasing sales revenue shows diners are drawn to affordable food and a consistent restaurant experience.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to say Red Lobster closed all its restaurants in Dallas (not elsewhere in North Texas).